To Kill a Mockingjay
by Icepath-Snowwing
Summary: Meet the tributes, and our favorites, Ariella and Etolia. Two girls. Two worthy of the Career o fighting to the death, only so they can survive. "What do you think of the Capitol?" "Fine." "Your mentors?" "Fine." "How about your stylist?" Icanya pauses, then comes out with such an outburst that it's worthy of being compared to her scarlet dress she's wearing. "I hate them!"
1. Chapter 1: Ariella

**A/N Hi there! This is my first Hunger Games story, and second story on here. I will be writing in Ariella's POV and my friend will be writing Etolia's POV. I will take all the odd chapters and she will take all the evens. **

**Enjoy and review, please!**

**Song Quote:**

"**_I_ should've said no**

**_I_ should've gone home**

**Should've thought twice 'fore _I_ let it all go"**

**From "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift. It's the kind of thing Ari would say to herself at the end.**

**DISCLAIMER: We are not Suzanne Collins. Note the WE.**

I'm sixteen now, and I don't understand why my mother still lays out my clothes for each day everyday. She knows that I don't choose to wear them. I always deliberately wear something completely opposite of what she chose. For instance, yesterday she had laid out a gorgeous medium-length yellow dress for me. I chose to wear a black jean skirt and a white tank top. The day before that, she had laid out a light pink skirt and white blouse. I went out of the house that day in light blue shorts and a grey top. And the day before that day, well, you get the point.

Every single day of my life, my mother has been overprotective and doesn't want me to try anything dangerous or wear anything too revealing or even something too boyish. And if I remember correctly, my aunt used to tell me that _she _would be one of the most daring girls. _She_ tended to wear things on the slightly revealing side. And _she_ would occasionally put on some trousers or a sweatshirt. Of course, that was back when she was my age. So she obviously has changed since then since she always wears something feminine, she's always incredibly cautious, and she always covers up. I just don't understand.

ooOoo

The bow tightens on my dress. "There you go! You look beautiful, Ella." My mother steps back and smiles fondly at me, clasping her hands together. "And it goes well with those pretty eyes of yours." She twirls me around and the bright blue silk flows around my knees.

"Complimenting your own work? Why, you're humble," I say sarcastically. "And it doesn't even look that great." _Liar_, my mind tells me. And my mind is correct. The dress really is beautiful. I just can't bring myself to tell her. Second of all, I hate it when people comment on my "pretty eyes". They call it pretty, but I would call them some of the ugliest I've ever seen. Third, Ella is the worst name you could possibly call someone. It's yucky and gross and… well, that just basically sums it all up.

I keep my mouth in a straight line, trying not to smile at the image looking back at me in the mirror. My mother takes my supposed silence the wrong way. "Oh, Ella, don't worry. A young man is bound to sweep you off your feet one day." She looks concerned for me, but I try to ignore her.

My mother looks at herself in the mirror and fiddles with the beaded clasp in her wavy brown hair. "Well now that you're all dolled-up and beautiful, I guess I should fix my hair. It doesn't seem quite right…"

After she leaves the room, I look down the hallway before muttering, "Your stupid hair never looks good." _Liar_, my mind says again. And it's right. Again. Her hair always seems to lie perfectly in her long, chocolate tresses. In fact, I'm jealous. I got my hair from my dad. It's a sandy blonde-ish brown color, and it is too thin. I am the image of a typical District 4 girl. The sandy blonde hair, green eyes, freckles, slightly tanned complexion. Luckily I'm not called freckle-face at school. That goes to another girl. It probably isn't the nicest thing to say, but I don't plan to get on anyone's bad side. Not really. Maybe my parents. That'd be a change for once. Hmm… there's a good idea forming.

I stare into the mirror and look at my eyes. My ugly, murky green eyes. I receive compliments on my eyes a lot. There has even been someone who has said that they look like pretty grassy meadows. The kind that are perfect and in your dreams. But it's stupid. Because if anyone would look at them now, they're green and brown. The color of grass and mud stains on someone's jeans. Gross.

"Ariella Sarai Pebblestep," my father calls up the stairs "Hurry up!" I take one last fleeting look at my hair and rush out to the porch.

When I appear, my father looks me up and down. He chuckles. "That's a marvelous dress you've got there. It really brings out your pretty eyes." I grimace at his words and bite back a sharp retort. "I wonder what beautiful seamstress made you that dress."

Obviously it's my mother. _Duh!_ Of course, I don't say that. I want them to be surprised with my… surprise, for the lack of having a better word.

"You ready to go?" my father asks.

I smirk. Every year we go to the reaping together. Always. We have never broken this tradition. _Well, there's always a first._ "Actually, I'm going with Lina." I barge past him and for once in my life, I don't ask for permission. I don't even ask for him to step aside as I push past. I don't let him hug me and say goodbye. It's all part of my plan. My wonderful, perfect plan. As I run to the poorer side of town, I look back to see my father's shadow in the doorway. He's probably more shocked than angry, which is okay by me. His perfect daughter is now gone. Too bad for him. Not that I care.

ooOoo

"Ari! I didn't expect you at all! I thought you were going with your parents to the reaping like usual!" Lina's mother beams and strides up to me. She touches my dress. "I see your mother used high quality silk. She must be doing well in her business."

I nod politely. "It's probably because of the reaping outfits people want."

She completely understands and nods. "Yes, my business has been picking up, but I expect it'll drop soon." She looks at me closely and I guess she can tell that I want to see my best friend. "Lina's upstairs if you want to see her. She's putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Apparently she didn't like what I did very much."

My mother and Lina's mom are both seamstresses and considered the best. However, my mother usually gets customers from the rich side and Lina's mother gets them from the poorer side. But that's how Lina and I met, even though most rich people don't interact with the poorer side of District 4.

I first look into Lina's room and I almost laugh out loud to see it covered in bright pink. Her walls are pink. Her bed is pink. Even the frame of the door is pink. Her parents believe that she loves pink, which is totally off. In fact, she _hates_ pink. I gaze around the room to see that it's a mess like normal. There are clothes everywhere and a tornado of papers spread out on her pink desk. When I come back here, I'll make sure she learns to clean her room. And make her bed. And organize her papers. But that's beside the point.

I look away and amble to the bathroom. When I arrive, I can't help but giggle at the ridiculous sight of Lina wearing her least favorite color: hot pink. Normally I like the color, but seeing it on her just made my eyes hurt for some reason.

Lina jumps when I enter, a smear of blue eye shadow dashing across her cheek. "Ugh! Why do you always have to come in at the wrong time?!" If I didn't know Lina, I would've backed off. But I do know her and she's being a little bit teasing. But she's also concerned. Lina takes a cloth and rubs her cheek to get rid of the smear. She turns to me. "So what are you doing here?"

I give her a weird look. She has heavy blue eye shadow on one lid and almost nothing on the other.

Lina sighs and turns back to the mirror. "Yeah. My mother did my makeup and you know how she thinks it's got to be all heavy." She waves the cloth around dramatically. In a way, she looks like some deranged squirrel with makeup on. And a bright pink dress. "She knows I don't like wearing makeup, but she does it anyways. I guess I have to look my best if I plan on volunteering." She sighs heavily again.

"Want me to do it," I offer. She shrugs and I walk over to help her out. "I'll try to hurry but make it look nice. We need to be in the square soon or else that poufy-haired peacekeeper lady will start yelling at us again." We giggle as we recall last year's reapings.

I apply a light line of blue eye shadow on each lid after rubbing everything off. "You know what you remind me of?" I brush some blush along her cheekbones.

"What? A ballerina?"

I laugh. "Not even close. I think of a berserk squirrel."

She looks at me quizzically. "How?"

I shrug before she bursts out laughing. Luckily, I wasn't putting anything on her. "You mean like the chipmunk in the story Ergal told my class?"

I hesitate before remembering. A boy in her class was trying to get out of taking a history test and had exclaimed that there was a crazy chipmunk wearing a pink tutu waltzing outside. Of course, everyone ran outside to see what was going on. The teacher kept Ergal inside and asked what he had just said. The teacher strode up to the window, looked outside, and wasn't in the best mood. There was no chipmunk "disco-ing" outside as Ergal had reiterated his story incorrectly. Now I can see why Lina's laughing so hard.

We giggle uncontrollably until someone comes in behind us. "You know your hair looks terrible." We stop immediately even though a smile tugs on our lips. "Seriously. It looks like a birds nest."

Misa, Lina's younger 16-year-old stepsister, strides into the bathroom, picks up a brush, and starts to untangle her hair. She looks at us. "Are you going to fix it," she asks incredulously, gesturing with the hairbrush.

We stare at her before she rolls her eyes and walks out of the bathroom. Lina looks in the mirror, concerned. "Does it really look bad?" She pats at the curls on her head.

I shrug. "It looks fine. I don't know what Misa's talking about." She glances at me before staring back into the mirror and sighing.

"Can you do anything else for it?"

I pause. "Do you have any extra fabric from this dress?"

Lina nods. She runs out of the restroom and brings back a ribbon. "My mother decided not to use it." She's about to hand it to me when she pulls back. "You're not adding more pink to my crazy outfit, are you?"

I snatch it out of her hands. "It's for your own good," I mutter as I tie her hair into a curled ponytail. I sigh as I pull my fingers through her soft, silky, golden hair. It's so attractive that I'm jealous. I'm also envious of her blue eyes which she inherited from her mother. They're so pretty. "There. All done. Let's go." I push her out the door before she can take a look at herself.

"Wait! Do I look ok? I can't volunteer this way!" Lina tries to go back in but trips on the heels she's wearing. "Oh, these stupid heels. I'd use my flats, but my mom said I _have_ to wear these 'cause they were expensive."

"You look fine. But it might be best to try next year since you'll need to wear flats in order to run up to the stage in time." I look under her bed and see some golden flats. "Hey, can I borrow these?"

She glances at me and shrugs. "Sure."

I pull off my blue high heels and slip on the pretty flats. After we're finished fumbling around, we run down the stairs, out the door, and to the square together.

ooOoo

"Hey," a peacekeeper yells at us, "go sign in!"

Lina and I roll our eyes together. It's my fourth year and Lina's fifth. Of course we know to sign in.

We barely make it to our respective groups (Lina in the 17 year old section and I in the 16 year old section) before our escort, Tillie Ash, pulls out the piece of paper for the "ladies". Oops. I guess we missed the beginning of the whole thing. But hey, at least we don't have to stand here listening to the whole boring speeches about why the Hunger Games take place.

I close my eyes, breathing in the salty air, wishing it was me, but it's not. It never is. Still, I'm standing on the tip of my toes, just waiting for our bothersome escort to ask for volunteers. I need to be prepared because I'm going to make history.

Time seems to go slower. I wait, and wait. Finally I know she's about to ask for volunteers. "I volunteer," I scream. Quickly, I dash up to the stage and give my name to Tillie. As Tillie announces my name and the other volunteer's name, time slows down once again. I can hear that my heart is beating loudly. I can feel sweat starting to form on my brow. Tears start to roll as I see what I love flash by. I know my parents can tick me off, but I love them. I really do. I love Lina. I can always depend on her. She's awesome, even though we disagree about the Hunger Games. I hate them. She loves them. I also love our neighbors. Sometimes they are vexing, but I love District 4. They're great. It's my home.

But I am a career. I am from District 4. I know how to use and fight with daggers and knives. I can last… for a few moments. So why did I volunteer if I'll probably lose everything and everyone?

**A/N I hope you liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2: Etolia

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with an update. **

**Song quote:**

"**And you'll know you didn't beat me,  
>When you look down and see,<br>I've got an I heart question mark  
>Written on the back of my hand"<strong>

**From "I Heart?" by Taylor Swift. Etolia, reflecting on how much life has tried to break her and that she hasn't broken and doesn't love anything.**

Blinking lights. That's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the reaping in District 5, my home. All of us, fourteen and up, have prepared for this day. Not like the Careers. We don't train and try to compete for the glory of it. Except the guy with the missing arm a few years ago. He did. They had to amputate his arm after an accident with the south generator under Main Street. He was never the same since. He told everyone he was going to be the best tribute ever known in District 5, but he had trouble walking in a straight line with a missing arm. The Capitol Peacekeepers eventually took him away after he managed to climb up to the top of the Justice Building and start chipping away at the top brick, saying it was blocking the sunlight from reaching his mushroom garden. Yeah. Figure that one out.

_Anyway_, most of us here in District 5 don't train like that for the games. We prepare, yes. We learn to throw a spear or wield a sword. Sometimes even shoot an arrow. But by far, our biggest asset comes from our district's principal duty—the making of power. Very early, in our schools, we learn how electricity works. By the age of five we know the difference between conductors and insulators. By ten, we could replicate the heating and lighting systems in our homes. Despite this, we are not often the winners of the Hunger Games. More than Districts Eleven or Twelve, yes, but not like Districts One, Two, and Four. Most of the time the arena is set in woodland, or some other place of nature. Over the course of sixty-four Hunger Games, we've had exactly seven victors. About half of them joined the Career pack in their Games, and the other half either had the homefield advantage—meaning they had access to electricity—or they just got plain lucky. Only those of us fourteen and up prepare for the games, in case we're chosen. Twelve and thirteen year olds, of course, can get chosen too, but its tradition that if you're less than fourteen when you're chosen, someone else will volunteer in your place. It's usually someone who had been chosen and replaced because they're too young. There's a certain amount of guilt that goes along with it, and you'll never really be accepted as a member of District 5 by the people here if you were saved and you didn't save someone who needed it.

"Here, let me do that for you, Etolia," my mother, Sowea Akari, says. I shrug her off, fixing and straightening the bun myself. My mother has brought out one of her fine dresses for the occasion. She spent nearly a year's worth of wages at the power plant for it, originally for my older sister. She got it from District 3, from a man whose daughters were well past their could-be-tribute days. My older sister died, however, before she could wear it. No one knows what exactly happened to her, but they found her body in the catacombs fried from electricity with a metal fork in her hand. The official cause of death was suicide, but nobody in my family believes it. Addalia wasn't the type to kill herself, even if it was the day before the reaping.

We do a lot of trading with District 3. Without them, we would have nothing to use the power we create for and test it in our labs. Without us, they wouldn't be able to power their machines and factories. The Capitol allows we two districts to trade for everything we need from one another during the space of one week, which was call the Week of No Somnus, or the Week of No Sleep. There is so much to do, trade, sell, and buy that week that we rarely sleep at all. Many of us use our one vacation day the day after No Somnus to catch up on sleep.

"There. You look beautiful," my mother says, standing back and smiling. The reaping isn't so much a death sentence here in District 5. The mortality rate of electrocution and the mortality rate in the games is pretty much the same, as horrific as that is. Starvation, unlike in some districts, is not a problem here. Few enough need to take out tesserae, and those who do easily manage with it. My family has never needed for me to take out tesserae. Addalia only did once, four years ago, when she was fourteen. It was a bad time. My father had just left my mother, and had taken baby Ocia with him to the Capitol. My mother had this odd thing where she thought that all girls' names had to end in –ia, and all boys had to end in –o or –io. It annoyed my father to no end before he left, but our names still were Addalia, Etolia, and Ocia. He left our district with her and went to the Capitol to work there at his new, high paying job. Though it was very lucrative, we never once got a letter or a cent from him. We never saw Ocia again either, although she would be twelve now and we wouldn't recognize her even if we saw her. In a way, she's lucky. In the Capitol, she's safe from the reaping, safe from the games, and safe from electrocution. That's the view my mother takes, at least.

I nod to my mother and step outside into the light. We barely ever have actual sunlight in this part of District 5, so only people in our sister city—the only other city in District 5—ever make solar panels. We always have a thick cloud cover. I think I've only seen the sun once—I was seven and don't really remember much. They say that seeing the sun means that our male tribute to that year's games will win, and the moon for the female tribute, but that was disproved by last year's games. The sun shone out one day in the summer, but our male tribute was the first one to die in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. The lights that I face now are ever-glowing, ever-shining lights of District 5. I have never seen a time where all the lights of District 5 are off.

Now, I know that other districts don't fare as well as us. Some even would say we are slightly pampered by the Capitol. The truth is, we aren't. The difference between us and District Twelve is this: we have the means to steal our power, while they cannot steal coal. We in District 5 barely ever pay for electricity, and thus can spend more money on food and other necessities.

"Etolia!" A shout of my name brings me back to attention. "Etolia!" it calls again, and I locate the voice. It belongs to Marie, my sort-of friend. She waves for me to come stand with the other sixteen year olds. On the steps of the Justice Building, the two glass balls already await. The mayor steps up and starts his usual spiel about the history of the games. I've heard it a hundred times before, as it was something we had to memorize and present in class every year. I find myself mouthing the words with him. Marie stifles a giggle as she glances in my direction. I snap my mouth shut at once, blushing slightly. The mayor ends his speech and ever-happy, ever-bubbly Elena Sosot bounces her way up the stage, chattering about this and that. Our previous victors, the three that are alive, that is, are sitting in chairs next to the table. She scoops up a slip of paper from the boys' ball. She's done that every year, even though it's supposed to be ladies first. But that's Elena Sosot for you. She smoothes out the crinkled paper and a hush falls over the crowd, all of us wondering who it is.

She blinks, shuffles around a bit, turns it upside down, and reads the name: "Dion Zemos." A hush falls over the crowd. Heads all turn towards the small fourteen year old, whose face is white, but he manages to make it up to the stage. Elena vigorously shakes hands with him and scoops a slip of paper from the girls' ball. The crowd goes silent once again. She clears her throat to read out the next name. "Ocia Akari."

**A/N Hope you liked it! Reviews would always be nice. They always make me happy!**


	3. Chapter 3: Reconsidering

**A/N Hi! I'm back! Enjoy and please please please review. It makes me happy! And… it makes me convinced that I really need to update faster. So… lol, no, I'm not really bribing… just saying the truth! Oh, and thank you Taste the Rainbow- Or Else for reviewing! I am so so so so happy!**

"**And we know its never simple never easy  
>Never a clean break, no one here to save me<br>You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand**

**And I can't breathe  
>Without you, but I have to<br>Breathe  
>Without you, but I have to"<strong>

**From "Breathe" by Taylor Swift. Ari's realization that from here on out, she's left everything that she's known and is on her own.**

I stare down at the small charm bracelet that Lina had given me in the justice building. Memories come back to me as I sit down on the velvet seats of the train.

_Lina walked up to me, tears trickling down the cheeks that I had carefully worked on. Ok, fine. They were quickly done. But, anyways, you could see the tear stains. I curl up in a ball on the armchair, afraid she was going to hit me. Instead, she throws herself on me and starts sobbing. Without a word, she gets up, trying to compose herself, and gives me a charm bracelet. "Here," she whispered, a little choked up, "this was specially made for me." She looked away and strode out of the door, looking back only when she was at the chestnut doors. "Good luck."_

I wonder why she said 'Good luck' instead of 'Goodbye.' I sigh and close my eyes, one single tear sliding down my face when I am rudely interrupted from my thoughts. I look up.

"Hey! Move!" I stand. The other tribute pushes me roughly.

I glare at him. "Just because I miss home doesn't mean I'm weak," I hiss and shove him square in the chest. He takes a step back, obviously surprised that I had some fire. I know it wasn't because I was strong. No, of course not. I'm one of the weakest 16 year olds you'll ever find. But, I might be contradicting myself right now, aren't I? I guess I meant to say that I'm not weak emotionally. Or at least I don't think so…

I glower and push past him. "I'm going to my room," I grunt. He stares after me and I ignore him. Walking into my room, I feel the sway of the train turning. I guess we're getting closer. I open my door and my jaw drops in awe of the room. Such a luscious life before the games. If only I wasn't so nervous.

I slip out of my dirty, messed up shoes before walking on the soft carpet. The carpets in the schools were nothing compared to this fluffy one. I let my feet sink into them and then wiggle my toes. I can just imagine how I looked, standing in the small room as if it's the first time I've ever seen and felt the sun. My face is radiant and I feel as if I'm almost glowing. I guess one thing that's my weak point is carpet. An odd thing, yes, but nevertheless very important to me. I treasure the soft fullness of the carpet. In fact, I can just see myself standing on a cloud of cotton candy. I suppose I'm just like a little kid. If this is what the carpet felt like, what about the bed? I mean, I would just sleep on the floor compared to my bed at home. Home. Home! I wake up.

It was weird. When I finally wake up out of my trance, I find myself spread out like an eagle on the white carpet. When did I ever decide to lie down? That's when my thoughts come back to me. I was thinking about the bed, right? I sigh contently, but get up. I inspect the bed closely and gingerly touch it. My hand sinks into it. It's not like quicksand, but like normal sand just swallowing you up. I decide to take off the covers and jump on the bed. I was quite surprised to find myself not bouncing up and down, hearing the springs, but instead I just land softly. I mean, if I had jumped into the sand, you would expect to just land their and for your rear end to start hurting really badly. But no! The bed was... like home.

I breathe a heavy sigh as I think about what I left behind in District 4. Everything at home, everyone I knew, everything I have known my whole life. Just... all gone. And it's not anyone's fault. Not really. I brought it upon myself. I mean, sure, if the capitol didn't have us participate in the Hunger Games then I wouldn't be able to volunteer, but it's not really their fault. It's mine, and now I wish that I hadn't done it. I mean, I made a fool of myself on capitol television! If I was going to participate in the Games, then I could at least look like someone who could get sponsors. But no, I have to act brave and then the next second, as everyone is looking at me, I break down. It's not total sobbing, but everyone that was looking would've been able to see that I wasn't the happiest and was actually having a slight emotional break down. So it seems as though I'm not going to get any sponsors and even if I do, it's going to be sad since almost no one from District 4 will sponsor me except maybe my parents, Lina's family although they are pretty poor, or... no, I will not think about him. It's very unlikely. Besides, he wouldn't be able to take sides, right? Why do I even ask if I'm hiding this from you anyways?

My thoughts go back to the day I volunteered. My vivid memory could see everything I did perfectly. I had actually pushed my father to the side as I dashed outside after our little talk on the porch. I used to never think that way. What has overcome me? I can tell my eyes are watering now and as a slow tear drips down my face, I can taste the salt. It's just like District 4. Little by little, the tears start to pour into a steady rhythm. I make no point in wiping them away. I just lie down slowly and feel the emotions coursing through me. I close my eyes and wish for sleep to overcome me and take over my thoughts. Just begging for a dream. Just something to take off my mind of my betrayal to my parents. My friend. My home.

I'm about to drift asleep when there's banging on my door. I take the pillow and cover my ears with it, trying to ignore my mentor. But the banging never ceases. I groan and stumble out of the bed and swing the door open. "What, Irinead?" I snap. I stare at the shocked face at the door. It's not my mentor. It's my fellow tribute. What was his name? His eyes flash and he glares at me. "Sorry," I mumble. He walks away without saying a word. I sigh and walk to the bathroom where I brush my hair.

"Ariella! Hurry up," my mentor shouts through the closed bathroom door. I ignore her. "You need to watch the recaps of the reapings! It's mandatory!" I kick the door in response. Even though I'm looking in the mirror, I barely notice that my hair is a mess and my cheeks are tear-stained with the makeup I had put on this morning. I blink and walk out the door, trying to remember what I was doing next.

Walking over to couch, I plop down on the opposite side from where my district partner sat. I don't even know his name… But whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm going to have to kill him to get back home and he is NOT going to get in my way. He doesn't bother to look and I ignore him also. Well, I guess we're not going to be allies.

I stare at the TV screen. District 2's reapings are going. I guess I missed District 1's. I watch as an 18-year-old girl volunteers for a young one. She glances at the screen and flashes a smile. Again, there's a volunteer. He looks about the same age as the girl, but burly. I look closer. "And our District 2 tributes are Mya Greys and Moliask Greys!" I raise an eyebrow. Are they related?

Next are the recaps for District 3. For the first time, I pay attention to the area their reaping is taking place. The surroundings look very techy-ish, but what do I expect? They specialize in technology! "And our tributes are Pearanya and Bermiath!" Pearanya, the girl, looks a little scared, but Bermiath looks confident. I wonder if it's fake, or he actually feels that way.

District 4… Another tear slips out of my eye and I don't wipe it away. I don't want to see the reaping. My reaping. Right before our escort announces our names, I see the camera close in on my face. My own crying face. It's all scrunched up in thought and I there is definitely fear etched in my face. I start to bawl a little. My fellow tribute glances at me weirdly and then looks back to the screen.

When District 5's reapings come around, I can't tell what the tributes look like. But, wait… are there even tributes on the stage? I clear away my eyes quickly to get a closer look. The mayor is whispering something in the escort's ear. Then they ask call out for someone… The screen goes grey and fuzzy. My eyes widen. Am I going blind? I glance over to my district partner and realize he has the same puzzled look on his face. Ok. Good. I'm not blind. If I was, I'd be SO dead. Well, I think I'll be dead anyways so what does it matter?

The screen suddenly becomes active once again. There is an apology from The Capitol about there being difficulties in District 5's reapings. They don't explain anymore. I wish they would, but they aren't. Oh well.

At District 6, my eyes begin to glaze over. These reapings are starting to get repetitive… My eyes closer for some rest.

ooOoo

My eyes jerk open as the train starts to slow down. I jump up and run to the window, eager to see outside. My first glimpse of The Capitol was impressive… and confusing. The blinking lights hurt my eyes considering I was used to District 4's nice, bright sun. The tall buildings cast shadows everywhere. I took in a deep breath. This was my first view of The Capitol. This will be the last place I'll be before my death. This is where I prepare for the arena. I may not be strong, but I am not weak. If I go down, I will take down as many as needed. I want to survive. I will not be stopped.

**A/N Yes, I know it's short. Sorry. This is a sort of full explanation for this story.**

**My friend and I decided to make a joint story. She will be writing one tribute's POV (Etolia) and I will be doing Ari's. BTW, her pen name here is Sanctuaria. She's a really good writer. You should check her stories out… **

**Well, anyways, I hope this story turns out well because we do have different writing styles and… we both want our tribute to win. So, no, we are not sure who will win. I hope it's ok and everything goes well. Plus, we've been working hard on the arena! So sorry for this short chapter!**

**Oh! And please Review! Reviews make me very happy indeed!**

**And I also just remembered to ask what you thought about her fellow tribute!**


	4. Chapter 4: Chosen

**A/N Hi! I'm in a happy mood… :D My family finally put up most of the Christmas decorations. We plan to finish tonight. :D :D :D Yes, I'm VERY happy. And… THERE'S AN UPDATE! So, without further ado, here's the next chapter… written by Sanctuaria :D**

"**All that I know is  
>I don't know how to be something you miss<br>I never thought we'd have a last kiss  
>Never imagined we'd end like this"<strong>

**From "Last Kiss" by Taylor Swift. Etolia thinking about her mother, and realizing that though she never thought she really loved her, she actually did a little bit. At least, she expected her always to be there when Etolia was ready to tell her, but now she might never get the chance.**

My heart pounds in my ears. Ocia is gone. Gone, to the Capitol, where we presume she was enrolled as a citizen and therefore exempt from the Games. My eyes connect with my mother's over the crowd. She looks stricken, her face as white as a sheet.

"Ocia?" Elena Sosot asks again, "Ocia, are you here?" Everyone is silent. Elena frowns and nods to the Peacekeepers by the stage. They nod back once and disperse into the crowd to look for my sister. But they won't find her. She is far away from here, in a better life. Half the Peacekeepers create a barrier to stop anyone from leaving the plaza. Their grim and stony faces reflect purple and yellow as the neon signs change colors. We are all stiff, frozen, and silent. Suddenly, one girl breaks the silence. Her words are soft, but distinct in the complete quiet.

"Ocia has been gone to the Capitol for ten years," Carrie says, looking at the ground. She's a twelve year old, small as they come. Her wispy golden hair is slightly mussed, but something about it makes her even prettier. We've never spoken, but I've seen her around the schoolyard a lot, always alone. This is the reason I am so surprised she is the one who spoke up.

Elena Sosot doesn't know quite how to take this, and our mayor puts his head in his hands. We are the first district, the only district to have a problem with the reapings in fifty years. How humiliating for him. The Head Peacekeeper, one Cornelius Bodger, goes up the steps to whisper in a cupped hand into Elena's ear. She nods and stares off into space for a second, lost in thought. The entire crowd is riveted on her face, but whispers run through the masses. The mayor has a quiet but heated conversation with her before she clears her throat and addresses us again. The silly Capitol accent dies a little from her voice as she says uncertainly, "This is obviously unprecedented and an error in the reaping ball. But we have decided, in order to be fair to the people of District 5, to the families whose children have not been chosen." A bad feeling settled into the pit of my stomach. Her voice is stronger now. "Will the eligible family members of Ocia Akari please come up here?" The audience is completely silent again. Marie gives me a sympathetic look but I ignore her. If they force me into these games, I will go in with my head high. They cannot break me by taking me from my home, for they have nothing to break. Ocia is gone. Addalia is dead. I have no close friends that will mourn overmuch on my death, and I am angry at my mother.

I mount the steps to her and she shakes my hand. I keep my expression fearless, and if not fearless, stony. The Peacekeepers come up on stage and escort us into the Justice Building, their hands on their guns in case we tried to escape. Dion is led to the door on the right, and me the left. A single desk resides in this room, and the Peacekeepers don't leave until I'm sitting in the chair behind it. To my utter surprise, my first visitor is not my mother. It's the mayor.

The mayor is a squat, mostly bald man who enjoys wearing expensive suits. He often struts around the city like a peacock, wearing a light-up tie. Nobody knows his name. To us, he's just "the mayor." I cross my arms and watch him as he sits down across from me.

"Etolia," he says. I'm surprised he knows my name. I don't remember Elena ever saying it during the reaping. His next words surprise me even more. "Etolia, I'm sorry." For a moment, I forget I'm supposed to be composed and confident and just stare at him in shock. He was being…nice? It was too good to last. I can tell by his facial expression that the excuses and useless facts are coming. "It had to be done however, for the good of District 5. You see, I had two choices. I could call for another name to be pulled out and risk another fourteen year old tribute like Dion Zemos, or I could use you, a strong, fearless sixteen year old."

"I see," I say. I don't uncross my arms, which are entangled so tightly I don't think they will ever come apart.

"Your district token," he holds something out to me. I don't take it.

"Isn't my district token supposed to be something of sentimental value to me?" I ask.

"Are you contradicting your mayor?" he asks officiously. I give a great sigh and take the thing from him. It's not like I have anything else I want to take with me. It's thin, thinner than paper. It has a feel similar to skin, and a design on one side. A gray cloud with a yellow lightning bolt in front of it.

"Win for us, will you?" he says, standing up. The nerve of that man. "Whatever it takes."

"Oh? So you want me in the Career pack this year?"

His eyes fix on mine with a startling intensity. "That's exactly where I want you to be." I barely have time to register that in my mind before he leaves and my hysterical mother rushes in. Immediately she flings herself on me, her tears soaking into my shirt. I sit there, stiff and unresponsive as she weeps. At last she releases me and sits across from me. She seems hurt, but not unsurprised, by my response. She knows I closed my heart years ago, in order to avoid more pain. It was after Addalia's electrocution, and I've never opened back up again since. It suits me just fine though. It's the reason I have no close friends and why I'm not bawling my eyes out like my mother. My attitude plays a big part of having no friends, but I think I also refuse to let myself get close to people. I refuse to let myself get hurt again. I want to win. I will win. I have no qualms about killing the other tributes.

"Etolia," my mother says, "I can't stand the thought of…of…losing another daughter. So you have to win. Then we can live with no fear. You'll never go into the electricity generator rooms, and we can both be safe." She doesn't say it, but I know the hidden plea behind her words. 'Then you can open up again.' The only problem is, it's just not that simple.

Before too long, her time with me is up. The Peacekeeper at the door asks me if there's anyone else I want to see as my mother leaves. I say no, and he nods. I might've said I wanted to see Marie if I had known that not seeing anyone else would mean the Peacekeeper would sit in front of me instead. He stares at me with those unblinking hazel eyes. I shift uncomfortably. I can't wait until it's noon, when the train leaves with us on for the Capitol.

**A/N So did you like it? Did you? Did you? I really want to know 'cause I LOVED it. I wonder if Etolia has a special connection with the mayor… No… that can't be since she was surprised the mayor knew her name. Hmm… But does Ocia play an important part in this story? Lol, I know but I'm not telling! :D Please review! Pretty please with awesome cherries and sugar on top? Please? Thank you and have a nice day. Ok… I'm starting to act a tad bit weird. Oh wellios. It's normal. But, ANYWAYS. Please review! And I mean it! I'm so sad to see that my story has only 4 reviews (two reviewers, too) and Sanctuaria's only has 1 review… (and that's me… :( It's soooooooooooooooooooooooo sad) And that's it! I will stop my rambling. So keep in mind what I said. Please. Yeah…**


	5. Chapter 5: Arrows

**A/N Yeah, I'm going to skip the capitol chariot stuff. I just normally find it boring, but I do believe Sanctuaria will be doing some of it in the next chapter! But, here's the next update! **

**Thank you glitterflake for reviewing TWICE! I was so happy! Please do again, and that goes for everyone else reading. :D**

**Oh, and Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year and Happy Easter! ;) You can ask…**

**DISCLAIMER!: I AM Susanne Collins and I DO own the Hunger Games….. I can wish, right?**

"**I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know  
>I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh but life goes on<br>I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in  
>This world"<strong>

**From "A Place in This World" by Taylor Swift. It's pretty self-explanatory, once you read the chapter.**

A/N Yeah, I'm going to skip the capitol chariot stuff. I just normally find it boring, but I do believe Sanctuaria will be doing some of it in the next chapter! But, here's the next update!  
>Thank you glitterflake for reviewing TWICE! I was so happy! Please do again, and that goes for everyone else reading. :D<br>Oh, and Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year and Happy Easter! ;) You can ask…  
>Oh! And I finally remembered to put the disclaimer:<br>DISCLAIMER!: I AM Susanne Collins and I DO own the Hunger Games….. I can wish, right?

Oh, the joys of training. Wouldn't you love to just see the million ways the different tributes could kill you? I personally just _love_ watching everyone show off their talents. But I don't have much to show off about. Not really, anyways. And besides, the things I knew I could do well I stayed away from. It's best to keep everyone on their toes, right? My plan: surprise everyone with a good training score after looking really bad in training. Then, I'd totally spook them because they'd know I'd have some special talent for something and wasn't trying my best during training. But so much for my plan. It went kerplop into the lake.

ooOoo

When I arrive at the training center, I notice that just about everyone's there. Perhaps one or two missing. I also see about five of them bunched into one group. I suppose the one over in the corner is the Career pack. In fact, it probably is, since they look a little sly and cunning, and my district partner is with them. I observe them since they are acting a little suspicious and notice that one of them glances over at me. I think I recognize her as the District 1 girl, since she has bright blonde hair and blue eyes and looks absolutely gorgeous. I stare at them, but when I get a few more looks, I decide to look away. But before I can look away, I see someone poke her. I guess the person wanted her attention. She turns and slaps him in the face and the boy staggers backwards. Ouch. I'll make sure never to get on her bad side. Everyone else except the tributes from District 7 and the boy from 11 are sort of wandering around. I guess we're considered loners. I glance behind my back back to the Career pack. I see all of them looking at me and when one of them starts to speak, they all turn away. I squirm a little bit as I notice more people are looking at me. I can feel their gaze burning into me.

I square my shoulders. "I'm ok. Just ignore them," I mutter under my breath. Standing there for a few more seconds was driving me crazy. I shut my eyes tightly for a few minutes. Right when I finally calm myself down, I turn myself around jerkily, but I am surprised and unprepared by what I saw. They aren't staring at me anymore, which was good, but then I notice that everyone has gone to a station. I guess I missed the station experts coming in along with the last few tributes. Great. I've already missed a bit of extra training I could get, which I need.

I decide to try something new and make my way over to the bow and arrow station. There, I find out I am basically useless with them. I even almost hit the girl from District 2. Luckily, she was practicing, or should I say showing off, combat and has a shield. I am really surprised when she gives me a sympathetic look. I thought Careers didn't have feelings. I turn around and decide to try my luck by throwing an arrow. But of course, it does not go in my favor.

After my failing attempt with bows and arrows, I head over to the combat station which is a fair distance away to my right. I halt to watch the District 2 girl and District 10 boy battling. I notice the weapons aren't sharp, or they would have both been dead by now, considering they've been at it since beginning of training. I guess the Gamemakers don't want us killing each other yet. But still, I bet you could beat someone to death with these things… My eyes flash back and forth between the two tributes. The boy from 10 is using some bat. It might've been a club. Who knows? But I guess he'd be the guy who'd maul someone to death since he seems to be pretty talented with that stick. The girl from 2 has an old-fashioned sword and shield. Of course, the sword was blunt.

After watching them fight for a little while, I feel my eyes start to wander around when they catch a view of knives and daggers. I smile to myself, remembering the first time Lina had taught me how to use them.

_"Never trap yourself in a tight space. If it happens, it could kill you. It's a life or death situation," Lina whispered. I knew she was dead serious about this. Lina is always serious when she's talking about fighting and survival skills. She never jokes about this kind of stuff. _

_I stared at her, wide eyed, since I was only eleven back then. I guess I was pretty innocent at the time. _

_"Also," she continued, "keep your blows closer to you body so that if need be, you can block." She demonstrated by thrusting her knife in my direction. I used the flat side of my blade to block it. She smiles. "Good. Now think fast!" With that as my only warning, she lunged at me and my survival instincts kicked in. She twirled around and her dagger sliced through the air, about to dig into my arm when I jumped backwards. This went on for awhile. Lina attacked, I defended myself. "Come on," she taunted, "is that all you can do?" Her blows get a little harder and I found myself just barely saving myself from a cut to the throat. My face grew furious, but she knew this was all play since my eyes had a glint of playfulness. I attacked, and while she was busy blocking me, I struck her by kicking my leg out and tripping her. With the surprise, she fell down to the ground and I stuck the tip of my blade to her throat._

_"Captured," I teased. _

_Without warning, she used the knife that was still in her hand and stuck the tip to my back, about the area where my heart was. It was so close that my shirt had a tiny hole from the tip of her dagger. As I was distracted, she disarmed me and flipped me over. This time, her blade was the tip of my throat. "Not quite." Lina laughed. "Surrender."_

_I sigh. "I surrender." She let me get up and I retrieved my knife._

_"Make sure to disarm your opponent before asking them to surrender. But…" she paused, "you're good," she stated while studying me. She looked up, surprise etched on her face._

_I looked in the direction she was looking. There stood a boy, around the age of 15. I blinked._

_"Very good for a beginner," he taunted, "but such a loser compared to me."_

_I glared at him; my grip on my blade tightened. "What did you just say," I hissed through gritted teeth._

_"Oh, did I just call you a loser?" he called in a babyish voice._

_A growl erupted from my throat when I felt Lina tugging at my wrist, firmly. "Hey! We're not losers, but yeah, you're good. So…we're just going to get out of here and you can have this place to yourself."_

_I yank my wrist out of her grip. "No. We're going to stay put." Lina sucked in some air and her cheeks poofed up like that spiky puff-out fish._

_The boy's eye flashed. "You want a fight?"_

_I glared at him again. "Yeah. I do." Lina gasps. The boy looked shocked that I had accepted his challenge. "That's right. I'll fight you."_

_"B- but you only just learned how to fight," Lina spluttered. I ignored her and walked away into the center of the fighting arena. "And he's really good! The best! Oh, Ari, please don't!" The boy looked uneasily around but ended up joining me and took a fighting stance. I copied Lina's stance when I had sparred with her. Without warning, he thrust his knife at me, expecting to win at the first move, but I still had my survival instincts button on._

_Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lina holding her breath, ready to leap in incase I lost. But I won't. Normally, my fury would distract me from fighting, but for once, it egged me on. I blocked him with my blade. He swung at me again, this time aiming for my stomach when my knife intercepted his path. The force jarred my arm. I pulled back and felt tiny beads of sweat on my face. One drop fell in my eye. I used my free hand to wipe it away when the boy charged at me. I was so scared that I was about to drop my knife. Luckily, I didn't, otherwise I'd be dead meat. Out of shock, I threw my dagger at him. I missed my mark, which was his throat, but the edge grazed his arm. He hissed in anger and held his arm, clearly frightened at the thought that he was hurt. I smirked, kicked him, and disarmed him all at once. I held his own knife to his throat._

_"Would you like to take 'loser' back now," I drawled._

_In normal circumstances, I bet he wouldn't've, but since this was a life and death situation, he sighed and closed his eyes slowly._

_I'm sure he was trying to keep his calm, but I could tell he was nervous. "Well," I coaxed as I pressed the tip of his blade closer to his throat. I glared at him when he didn't respond. He gulped._

_"I surrender," he grunted. It was barely above a whisper._

_"Louder. I want Lina to hear."_

_"I surrender." He winced as his voice cracked._

_"… and?" I was waiting for him to admit that I was not a loser._

_He gave a small pout. Of course, he was just trying to get out of the situation. It wouldn't work on me. I narrowed my eyes. "You're a loser." I raised an eyebrow. He whimpered as I pressed my blade harder. If he swallowed, he would end up getting cut. "Ok! I surrender and you're not a loser. You're… good."_

_I let him get up. He dusted off his pants and backed away slowly, as if not wanting to startle me. I looked to Lina for approval. She was just amazed. I told him to get out, but first, I asked his name. _

Garilee **(Jer-ih-lay) **Longue… my district partner. That wasn't the boy in the mermory's name, but it was his little brother's. I mean, the one back when I learned how to fight with knives' little brother. Garilee is the little brother of the boy I practiced fighting with. No wonder I recognized him… He looked so much like his brother. Besides, whose last name is Longue? I don't know anyone else last name as Longue. But, whatever. It's not really important… unless Garilee is holding a grudge against me.

I walk over to the table of weapons, slightly mesmerized by them. I pick one up and lightly touch the tip. It's blunt. I let out a small sigh. If only they were sharp, my memories back in 4 would be so vivid. Now, they seemed cloudier. If only they were sharp… The adrenaline rush that I had experienced slowly left me, leaving me exhausted and longing for my dad's knives and daggers that I took from home. They were in my room.

When I had arrived at The Capitol, I was quickly rushed out and into this new building. The training center. This was also where the stylists decided to have a little fun with me. It was painful, but all the touch ups seemed very distant compared to what my mother would sometimes do to me. It almost seemed as if she were a living doll. Which she was, except that I would rather have a doll for my mother than the annoying one I have now.

My stylist, Sijardin, was really weird. His skin was tinted turquoise colored. My love for turquoise had disappeared. Strange designs were painted on his skin, all over his whole body. And the clothing style! I thought District 4 had some of the latest fashion, but I guess it was nothing compared to The Capitol. In a way, it disgusted me. Their clothes were exotic with the bright colors blinding me every time I took a look at them. But, I suppose I eventually got used to it all. My eyes probably adjusted, although every once in a while I'm blinded for a moment.

Sijardin's voice was a little high for a guy, too. I mean, it was insanely squeaky high, even for a girl. These capitol people were starting to scare me. However, they did have impressive outfits for the chariot ride and my prep team said the interview outfit was one of the bests they had ever seen. I'm not sure I quite believe them, considering they were the disgustingly weird clothes, but as long as they aren't overdone and all scary-like, I think I'm ok.

Distantly, I hear someone's voice calling my name. I guess it was my last name that jerked me out of my thoughts. I hate my last name with a burning passion. I mean, whose last name is _Pebblestep_?

"Pebblestep? Hello?"

I turn quickly, holding the dagger between us. "Don't come any closer," I say with a deadly seriousness in my voice. I actually don't really know what is wrong with me, considering a blunt dagger would get me nowhere unless I jabbed it in the guy's temple or managed to slit his wrists, which was unlikely.

"Hey! Chill! We only wanted to see what you were doing!" The girl from District 2 was watching me. Again.

The guy chuckles and puts on an accent. I recognize him as the boy from District 10. "Don't ya know that that piece of metal ain't gonna do a thing?"

I glare at him and made a mental note to cover my ears if he ever tries to talk that way to me again. Then I process what he just said. "Hmm? Oh… Sorry." I lower my knife. "I guess survival instincts are already starting to kick in." I give a weak smile.

The girl laughs. What was her name? Maria? Myana? Oh, whatever. I don't remember. "Yeah. Same for just about everyone. It all starts about right after the reaping day." She tosses her blonde curls. "So, your name's Ariella, right?

I pause and then nod hesitantly.

"What? You don't know your own name?"

I glance at the boy. He is laughing at his own so-called joke. I don't really get it and I don't think the girl did either. "Well, I prefer Ari. It's way better than Ariella." I frown.

The girl blinks. "Ari…" She pauses. "Ariella sounds more sophisticated."

I shrug.

"But I like Ari. It's pretty and a little dangerous sounding. I really like it, actually." She puts down her shield and holds out her hand.

Being me, I just stare at it.

"Seriously. It's a handshake. I thought you grew up in District 4."

I laugh a little, though you can tell it is forced. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little slow at processing things…" I shake her hand firmly and pull away.

"Mya Greys, District 2 tribute," she introduces herself.

"I'm Kobe Luck from the awesome District 10," the boy from District 10 volunteers.

We ignore him and the three of us end up standing there a little awkwardly.

"So," she suddenly starts, "are you good with knives?" She points at the dagger in my hand.

I shrug. "I guess I'm ok."

Mya snatches it out from my hand and starts to toss it around. I look at her unhappily. Who does she think she is, snatching things out of my hand? I try to keep my cool and close my eyes, letting out a long breath.

Mya doesn't seem to notice. "This is perfectly balanced for me. Such a shame the Gamemakers decided to blunt all of these." She runs her finger down the length of the blade. Suddenly, she throws it. The blade slices through the air like a blur and burrows itself just slightly above the dummy's heart. If the dagger had been sharp, it probably would have been directly on target.

I'm surprised, although I probably shouldn't be. She is a Career after all, and Careers are talented people. But, they're normally more violent. Or at least that's what I had always thought. Maybe I'm wrong, which is more than likely.

"Can you throw one?" she asks. I bite my lip, unsure whether to reveal my skill to her. She looks at me inquisitively. "Well?" I nod. "I want to see."

I select another dagger from the table and make sure it's balanced in my hand. Then, I chuck it at the dummy. It seems to be on target, but at the last second, it swerved and instead lodged itself in the throat. I bite my lip.

"Were you trying to aim for its throat?" Mya asks.

"Yes." I blink, look down, and shuffle my feet.

Mya rolls her eyes. "You probably missed because it wasn't quite balanced."

I'm glad she sort of believed me. Or, at least, she gives me the benefit of the doubt. Or, well, I guess none of that happened. She just doesn't push it.

Mya looks at me funny. "I think you should join the Career pack… but the problem is that they don't trust you since you didn't join us automatically. Which, is true, since it's, like, a no-brainer to join us. I mean, why wouldn't you?" She stares at me. I guess she's sort of waiting for me to answer her.

I shrug. "I don't know if I want to join you guys."

She rolls her eyes again. "Well, whatever. It's lunch time anyways." She leaves out the door with Kobe following her close behind.

I shut my eyes and open them again, breathing out a sigh. Looking around, I notice that everyone's gone. All the station people are staring at me. "Sorry," I whisper, blushing, and I run out the door.

ooOoo

Lunch was a little awkward. There were two tables. The first table held the Careers. Districts 1 and 2, Garilee, the girl from 3, Kobe, and the boy from 8. Surprisingly, the girl from 5 is sitting next to the District 1 girl. You know, the one who slapped the boy who poked her earlier. The other table held everyone else, although at one end the tributes from 7 and the boy from 11 were huddled together.

ooOoo

I am unsure where I want to go. Go with my fellow Careers who were planning each other's and everyone else's deaths? Or look like a softie and join the other districts?

My district partner turns around and stares at me. The girl I almost hit with an arrow, Mya, swivels around in her seat and smiles at me. She beckons me to their table. I pause for a minute. Everyone seems to be watching me. Before I know it, my legs carry me over to the Career's table. I hesitate before I sit.

Everyone stares at me for a few more seconds and then go back to their food except Mya. "Hi," I whisper softly.

She smiles. I'm not quite sure if it is genuine, considering it was the same smile she had shown the cameras on the reaping day. I wonder why she volunteered, but perhaps she's like the normal Careers. Just they are a little more violent. But I think I like her. Maybe I will join the Career pack.

"So," she starts, "Ari, this is the Career table. I'm glad you joined us." She picks up a roll and picks off a piece, popping it into her mouth. She then turns to everyone else at the table and says something I don't quite pick up. It was something along the lines of 'Hello? Why doesn't anyone say hi? It's not like she…' I jab my fork into a fairly big slice of meat and decide just to bite into it since it appears that I forgot to get a knife. I take a big chomp out of it. I look up and see everyone at this table staring at me, wide-eyed. "What? I have something on my face?" I ask through my mouthful of beef.

The boy from District 1 laughs. "She doesn't bite?" he asks Mya.

Mya's cheeks burn red in embarrassment. "I meant that she doesn't bite other people."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," The girl from 3 jeers. Mya doesn't say anything. "I'm sure she would bite if her life is in danger. Which, would be quite soon."

"I would kill her now. She eats just like an animal. It's disgusting." The girl from 1 looks at me disapprovingly. I put down my fork.

"Well, anyways," Mya tries to continue as if nothing happened, "Ari, this is Sapphire." She points to the District 1 girl. "Amethyst." She moves to the District 1 boy. "Of course you know I'm Mya from District 2, and this is my brother, Moliask." The boy she points to gives her a death glare. I'll make sure to steer clear of him. "This is, um, Pearanya, right?" The District 3 girl rolls her eyes and nods, acting bored. "Garilee, your district partner, and Velvito from District 8." Velvito doesn't look up from his food. "Oh, and this is Etolia."

"Hi," she says before returning to her plate of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and rolls. I can't tell if it's condescending or not.

"So," Sapphire begins, "since we're the Career pack, we should guard the Cornucopia, right?" she asks, although I bet it's a rhetorical question. Everyone around the table nods except me. Sapphire looks at me sharply. "Ariella? Do you not agree?"

I shrug and don't say anything while I sort my thoughts. Eventually, I figure out what to say. "That is only if there's nothing else more important. Say, like, there's an ultimate food supply in one place. Then, you guys should guard there and will also control the food source while eating all you want at the same time."

"Yes, I was going to say that," she says sweetly in a voice that could almost have had honey dripping out of it. But Sapphire glares at me.

"Of course," I mutter sarcastically.

She smiles, but it's a cold one. "Well, then that's-" Suddenly, there's a scream. We turn and look the other table and see a girl holding her throat and another girl trying to do the Heimlich maneuver on her. I think the girl choking is from District 9 and the other one from District 8. Her face was starting to turn blue. Medics rush in a few seconds later and they inject something into her. She survives. Apparently she wasn't choking but was deathly allergic to peanuts, which was in a cookie. I feel kind of bad for the girl. If there are any peanuts in the arena, she'll definitely have a tough time, since everyone could use it as an advantage against her.

Even though all the drama is over, everyone seems quiet. No one speaks. But it's a good thing. I get to think about everything.  
>I'm willing to bet that Sapphire is going to be the leader since everyone else seems to listen to her. And if I join the career group, I'll have to listen to her too, or else she's going to make sure everyone turns against me and then I'll be dead meat. Like my food in front of me. Sort of. But that's too risky. I can't join the career pack. I'm going to have to face this on my own. <p>

**A/N Oh my googles! This is the longest chapter I have EVER written! I hope you liked it! I don't know if you understood the meat part. Sorry about that. I hope the next chapter explains that. And… the peanut issue, I felt like doing that. I hope that wasn't too weird or anything. Thanks! Please review, and blah blah blah… **


	6. Chapter 6: Careers

**A/N It's an update! O_o! Here's Sancutaria's part of Training Day 1! It's SO long compared to what I write!**

**Sanctuaria's A/N Hey everyone! So, just to clear this up, this chapter would have been posted _4 days ago_ if I didn't have to wait for Icepath-Snowwing. So the late update isn't my fault. For those of you who didn't get the whole 'bite' joke in Ch5, you'll get it here. So, train ride, stylists, chariots, and first morning of training down. Enough of my rambling, read it!**

**Icepath-Snowwing's A/N I'm sorry if I was editing Sanctuaria's and my chapters! It's best to clear certain things up, right? Please read!**

"**Today was a fairytale  
>You've got a smile that takes me to another planet<br>Every move you make everything you say is right  
>Today was a fairytale"<strong>

**From "Today Was A Fairytale" by Taylor Swift. Etolia's happiness and relief at instantly being accepted by the other (important) tributes. She realizes training for the Games won't be so bad, it might actually be amusing.**

Dion and I first see each other again at the station. Our families are kept behind the rope. Dion has obviously been crying and is still sniffling as we go up the ramp onto the train. In his hand, he grips tightly what I assume will be his district token. It's a golden band, embedded with yellow gemstones forming the shape of lightning bolts. I wonder how he got it. Dion's family isn't poor, but they aren't rich either. I doubt even the mayor has something so nice. Too bad it'll probably be ruined in the Games. We board the train and the ramp comes up and covers the entrance. There's a slight jolt and the train starts moving. I glance out the window, and, though I'm loath to admit it, am slightly daunted by the speed at which we are moving. Surprisingly, I don't feel any side effects—such as nausea, which plagues Marie—from the train. The air is cool and controlled. Dion and I look at each other, wondering what we're supposed to be doing. The ride to the Capitol only takes about a day from District 5. Just then the door slides open—no push or pull, _slides_—to reveal our three previous victors. All of them look to be in pretty good shape, no alcohol or drugs inflicting abuse on their bodies. There are two female and one male, which means I get the pleasure of choosing my mentor. Joy. Elena Sosot comes in in her usual bouncy way.

"This is such a big day for you!" she blathers, "Dion, you'll be with Cori." Cori is the man. He looks on the older side, around fifty, but still strong. He looks at Dion with kind, understanding eyes and puts his arm around his shoulder. His blue eyes reflect a certain sadness, but there's a hardness in the shape of his face that accounts for his victory. No one comes back from the Games unscathed. Except maybe me. Because, as my mother said during one of her early shouting matches with me, I have become "cruel and heartless." I don't need the Games to change me, the circumstances in my life in District 5 has done that already. Cori leads Dion through a door leading towards the front of the train. I survey the two women in front of me.

One of them looks to be about the same age as Cori. Her graying brown hair and sharp brown eyes give her a unique look in District 5. Very few of us have the brown hair brown eyes combo. I try to recall everything I can about this woman. She was the victor of the 34rd Hunger Games. Because she's from my district, they play the reruns of her Game often. Her name is Levitha Olicayo. She's good with knives and swords, and average with a bow.

The other is younger than Cori and Levitha, maybe in her thirties? She has the customary dirty blonde hair of District 5, along with the green eyes. She's the picture of what you think of when you think of a person from District 5. Me, I'm not the norm. It's rare to find a person with pure brown or pure blonde hair. Dark brown eyes, hazel eyes, and blue eyes are hard to find too. I have dark brown hair and green eyes. The dark hair and green eyes are inherited from my mother, although her mother was a dirty blonde. My father had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. I try to remember all I can about this victor. Her name…her name is Velicia Birt. Victor of the 45th Hunger Games, her best assets are her throwing skills—you know, knives and stuff like that—and her powers of observation. Neither of them seem particularly soft and caring, but I don't care. I'm here to win, not be coddled.

Then I assess my own skills, trying to decide who to choose. I'm decent with small knives and okay with slim swords, but they have to be long and light. I can't use a sword and a shield at the same time either. I'm absolutely hopeless with clubs or maces. Decent with a bow. Besides fighting skills, I am okay with medicines. Not medicinal plants, but Capitol brewed medicines. And, well, that credit has to go to my overprotective mother. She must've diagnosed me with a billion different diseases over the years, and "treated" them all. I have tried every medicine known to District 5. Once, she even thought I had contracted rabies—though nothing had bit me or anything remotely like that—and gave me shots and pills for it. After all that, I'm fairly good at recognizing and identifying Capitol medicines. Like everyone in District 5, my ability in the electrifying department surpassed all the other tributes, except maybe my counterpart being coached by Cori. But who to chose?

Levitha knows how to work with the skills I have. In a way, her experience with her Hunger Games would be very helpful to me. We have a similar skill set, so she knows strategy that would be useful to me. Velicia's powers of observation, though very useful and not to be underestimated, are unteachable, especially in the paltry time we have to prepare. I lock eyes with Levitha and she nods.

She motions for me to come with her and leads the way towards the front of the train. She shows me to my room, where I can shower and change before lunch. I pull open the drawer to find millions of clothes to choose from. For me, comfort, and maximum movement and protection beats style any day. I pull out a light spring green shirt and brow leggings and head for the bathroom. The shower is more high-tech than the one we have at home. The dial lets you change the temperature at will, whereas at home there are exactly three buttons: hot, cold, and off. Hot has always been a little cooler than I would like at my house, so I turn the dial up even higher. When I step out, I dry myself and don the light shirt and pants. I brush out my slightly wavy brown hair and pick up the sheet of thin material that is to be my district token. I'm not even sure what it is yet. I'm supposed to carry it around throughout the Games? Fat chance. All I can say is, if the mayor wants me to have this, the tribute clothing better have pockets.

Levitha comes for me again to lead me to the dining room. Steaming dishes are already set out on the table, soups and salads and breads. Dion and Cori come in after me. I sit down at we begin to eat. The food comes in courses. At home, our meals, though not scant, were all laid out on the table at the same time. There was no soup course, just meat, a starch, and a vegetable. The food here is all delicious, and to my surprise it's not too rich for me. At the end, as a little taste of home, they serve our district rolls. Their light brown crust is slightly sweet but not crunchy. The insides are white and fluffy, just like the most expensive ones at the bakery. After dinner, I retire to my room. I flip on the TV to watch the televised reruns of the reapings. Levitha comes in after me to my annoyance, but I don't complain. She's my lifeline in these Games.

Just in time, too. They flash the Capitol symbol and play the anthem. As usual, District 1 goes first. Levitha hands me a small notebook. I take it gratefully. I need to remember what the tributes are like, and use their weaknesses against them. The reapings for District 1 go by rather quickly. Two twelve year olds are chosen and immediately replaced by older tributes who will obviously be Careers. The girl is gorgeous, with blue eyes and long, curly blonde hair that falls down to her waist. The boy has slightly long straight black hair and hazel eyes that almost look purple. Their names are Sapphire and Amethyst. They both look confident, and Sapphire even smiles, waves, and blows kisses to the crowd of District 1, who go crazy. It's obvious she is a popular choice. Amethyst receives applause as well, but nowhere near as much as Sapphire. They both look strong and sturdy.

District 2 is after District 1. The girl is about eighteen and quickly volunteers for the thirteen year old called, flashing a winning smile at the cameras. Her blonde curls bounce as she walks up onto the stage. They announce her name: Mya Greys. The boy, also a volunteer, has a remarkable resemblance to the girl. Moliask's burlier, however, with straight black hair that falls to his shoulders. I'm not surprised when they announce them to be brother and sister.

District 3 is next. Luckily, I recognize neither of them from trading in the Week of No Somnus. The chosen are not volunteers. Pearanya and Bermiath are their names. Bermiath appears confident, but Pearanya looks surprised and a little frightened before she has a chance to conceal her emotions.

Then it's District 4, the last of the usual Career districts. A young girl is chosen, quickly replaced by an older, sixteen probably, my age, volunteer with brown hair and freckles. But right before the escort announces her name, there's a close up on her face. It's clear that she's crying, getting the front of her blue dress with the frilly bow all wet. As they zoom out again, it drips down in drops to her feet, clad in golden flats. Fear is etched clearly on this girl's, Ariella's, face. This doesn't make any sense to me. Why volunteer if it makes you unhappy? It's not like the girl was her sister or anything. Somewhere in the crowd behind the camera, someone is shouting her name, "Ari! Ari!" which I guess is her nickname. She doesn't turn to look, and I'm too busy puzzling over her fear to watch the male tribute being chosen, earning me a sharp rap on the head by Levitha. I come to my senses just as they're announcing his name, Garilee Longue, but I have no idea if he was a volunteer or not.

After that, it's my reaping. I wonder what they'll show, as the whole process after the mayor's speech took about a half hour, and this program's only forty-five minutes long. I see Dion being called, his face white. The screen goes gray as Elena is selecting the slip from the girl's ball. The screen suddenly goes back to the Capitol seal and a voiceover is apologizing for the mix up in the reaping of District 5's female tribute.

After that they cut right to District 6. A small girl, Teribia, and a tall boy named Yassarith are selected here. No one comes forward to volunteer for them, so the program moves right along after they shake hands with the escort. Then it's District 7, where Lethalissima and Quistor are chosen. Lethalissima is tall, tanned, and has brown hair. Quistor has short-cropped black hair. Neither of them look particularly fearful, but their district obviously is less well-fed than my own.

Meryll and Velvito are called up from District 8. Velvito doesn't look like much of a threat and neither does Meryll. Velvito has black hair and Meryll brown. She's small and looks to be about fourteen.

District 9's tributes also have no one to volunteer for them, and it's reflected in their faces. Icanya is very lightly tanned, with black hair in a long braid down her back. She has a serious and somber expression. I don't see her being much of a threat. Hatmic is burlier, but obviously could use more food in his diet. I'm slightly struck by how well off we of District 5 are.

District 10 is next. The girl is chosen first, one Atonia Magda. She bravely mounts the stage, and I judge her to be a young fifteen year old. She has slightly curly light brown hair that falls a bit past her shoulders. Her eyes are a soft green. The boy is Kobe, who is not particularly distraught by his being a tribute. He acts as if it's all a big joke, although I—and most of the other tributes, I'm guessing—don't find him very funny. I suppose this will be his plan to win over the Capitol audience and gain sponsors.

District 11's tributes, Blossom and Urness, are very slight in stature. Their reaping day dress and nice clothes look as though they've been passed down through many generations, which makes me wonder what their normal clothes look like. They look way underfed, and I think Blossom might have wiped away a tear as she mounted the steps.

In District 12, the last district since 13 was blown off the map, everything goes smoothly. But if I said District 11's tributes looked underfed, 12's were even worse. You could easily see the outline of every bone in their body. Their shoes were covered in black dust from just walking up to the stage. From what I can see, the entire district's covered in a thin layer of coal dust. Their names are Tessaraea and Ore. I wonder what kind of parents would name their child "Tessaraea," which comes from tesserae. Was that all their child was to them? Someone to get tesserae for their family?

Then it's over, and Levitha leaves me with the order to study the list. I stretch out on the bed, with the TV still on in the background as I look over my notes. Suddenly I hear the words "Special Report" and turn to look back at the TV.

"District 5's female tribute is Etolia Akari. We're sorry for the delay in getting this information out to you, citizens of Panem," the announcer says. They show a brief clip of me going up the steps and shaking hands with Elena Sosot. I'm glad to see that my expression is impassive. I pop the tape of the recorder and play it, rewatching the reapings. As I see District 4's again, I'm glad my dress wasn't fluffy with a big bow like Ari's. I go through them again until Levitha pulls me out of my room. We are arriving at the Capitol. At the last second, I go back to pick up the dress and district token from my bathroom and take them with me going off the train. A Capitol attendant takes them from me, leaving my arms free to wave at the crowd, but I don't. I ignore them and walk straight down the plank. Dion is beside me, our mentors following behind. He isn't crying, but he still looks miserable and does nothing to try and please the crowd goggling at us. Cori shows him to an elevator and they get inside. Levitha shows me to a second elevator and hits the "5" button. It rises up and the doors ding open, revealing a large room with whitewashed walls.

"Stay here," she instructs me, "Your prep team will prepare you before you meet your stylist. Don't resist." With that, she hits the down button on the elevator and glides back downwards, leaving me alone in the Remake Center. The door on the opposite end opens, and in comes three of the most bizarre people I have ever seen. The first one is dyed completely blue, and appears to have died of asphyxiation. The second as covered in blue and green tattoos, with a headdress of what looks like peacock feathers sticking up. She's lucky she's so short or her feathers would have brushed across the ceiling. The third is also female, for which I am grateful. She smiles at me, and I see that her canine teeth are elongated more than is natural and end in sharp points. Her nails are also abnormally long, filed to be more like claws.

They introduce themselves as Crotia, Aguasa, and Sindi. Then they strip me down and Sindi, the clawed one, dumps a bottle of green sludge into a tub of lukewarm bathwater. They usher me into it. When they let me emerge fifteen minutes later, I'm covered in noxious green slime. I hope this is not part of my outfit, for though I like green, this is more of a sickly color. Luckily or unluckily, they scrape it off with heavy bristled brushes. Though I showered on the train, it's amazing the amount of dirt they can scrape off with those things—along with layers of my skin.

They circle me, taking in every part of my naked body, checking that everything was okay. I hope this means I'm done. But no, after they agree the green solution has done its work, they dunk me in a muddy brown one instead. And then a red oozing thing that they rub into my hair. Then a yellow paste that sits on my body for about an hour before they peel it off. Finally, Crotia exclaims, "There! You look lovely, darling!" I shrug as Aguasa goes to call my stylist.

The door opens, and a faint fragrance permeates the room. My stylist comes in, but she's nothing like I expected. I don't think I've ever seen her before. The fragrance holds a hint of trees and bark. There aren't many trees in District 5, so I can't tell which kind. Then there is the woman herself. She looks to be in her early thirties, but you never can tell the age of anyone in the Capitol, with all their high-tech cosmetic equipment. Her eyes are tilted slightly upwards, giving her an exotic, but beautiful appearance. The tips of her ears taper to a slight point, and I see when she smiles at me that her teeth are perfectly straight. She wears tawny pants and a light green top, the kind I love to wear. A for-decoration quiver and bow are strung across her back. When she speaks, "Hello Etolia," I know I've heard her voice before. She reminds me of an image I saw somewhere before…

"You're Cliarra, who trained under Tosiri," I realize.

"Indeed," she smiles again. I cannot help but trust her. She way she moves and talks…it's so…perfect. I pinch myself. Hard. The feelings vanish. To hide my lack of concentration, I ask, "What am I wearing tonight?"

"Oh, I think you'll like it." She glides over to the massive wardrobe and opens it. Only one outfit resides inside. She delicately takes it off its hanger and I know instantly it's not my type, but as dresses go, it's reasonable. Cliarra holds it out to me and I take it. It's made of some sort of lightweight material that shimmers in the light, throwing bits of gold everywhere. The entire dress is gold, but I don't realize how it reflects my district until I put it on. As I stand in front of the mirror, I notice no matter which way I turn, a lightning bolt is emblazoned on my chest, shinier than the rest but utterly unnoticeable until light shines upon it.

"Cliarra," I breathe, "Thank you!" And I truly meant it. Getting sponsors and a high training score are my duties now, before the Games. To me, this dress is priceless. She smiles mischievously.

"Just wait until you see your interview dress," she says. I smile back, for the first time today. First time this week, probably. I decide I like Cliarra. She genuinely wants to help me, a quick-to-anger, slow-to-forgive sixteen year old girl, who wants to kill other people. Well, this is the Capitol. I turn back to my prep team so they can do my makeup. I've always disliked make up, but luckily they only do a highlight of green above my eyes and powder my face. Cliarra moves about with a grace I've never seen, almost too fluid to be human. We get into the elevator which takes us down to the first floor. While we glide down, I realize what she reminds me of. A book, a rather dry and boring book, that we read parts of in school. It was called _Literature of the Past_ and talked about all sorts of books that were written before the Hunger Games began, before the Dark Days even. Anyway, it talked about a book in which strange creatures existed, and one of them I would imagine to look just like Cliarra. What were they called? Elves! That was it!

"You're an elf," I say.

"Yes," she nods, "The Capitol has many makeover options."

"Literature of the Past?" I ask.

"Yes." Her laugh is soft and melodic. We arrive at the bottom floor to discover it's more of a stable than a room. Cliarra helps me mount the chariot to join Dion, who is already there. His suit is golden, like my dress, and he sports a top hat emblazoned with a lightning bolt. We nod to each other and face the front, where the District 1 chariot is already starting to exit into the view of the cheering crowds. Sapphire is gorgeous as usual, and the purple suit Amethyst is wearing brings out the slight purple in his eyes. The horses are so well-trained they need no guidance. District 2, District 3, District 4, and then we're being pulled out onto the track by our horses.

There's plenty of time to examine some of the other tributes on our way to see the president, so I do. As I wave and smile at the crowd—though they definitely do _not_ deserve it—I look at some of the other tributes. As I glance around at the other tributes, I see that they are in awe of the Capitol's bright, flashing lights. It doesn't make as much of an impression on me though. District 5 is full of lights, as we're the power district. Without us, there would be no Capitol. No Games.

The easiest to see is the chariot right in front of us, District 4. The girl, Ari, I think, is calm instead of crying for once and smiles and waves to the crowd. A lot like what I'm doing. The boy, Garilee, is smiling a fake smile down on the Capitol citizens, but I'm not sure any of them notice how condescending he's being. Actually, I'm not sure if they're noticing him at all. Behind us, District 8 Meryll has captured the crowd with her sweet face and smiles. Further on Icanya, District 9, is the only girl crossing her arms and ignoring the crowd. A pang of jealousy goes through me; I'd love to be doing that. District 10 tribute Kobe is laughing and joking with the crowd as he passes them, while his counterpart just waves shyly, a small smile on her face. Away from my mother and the sad memories of my district, I'm beginning to relax, as ironic as that is. I'm going closer to what I used to be. Atonia, that was the girl's name. In my district, she'd be too young to be a tribute. Someone would have volunteered for her. But I guess it isn't like that in District 10. Mya, District 2, also has an excited audience. But by far, we are all blown out of the water by Sapphire, of District 1. The crowd screams her name and she blows kisses back to them. Her chariot is covered in pretty flowers that people have thrown to her.

We make our final lap around the City Circle and finally stop before President Snow's mansion. The music ends with a flourish, and a hush falls over the crowd. The President, a young sallow faced man gives us an official welcome to the Capitol from the balcony above. They play the anthem and cut to our faces on the screens above. Then we do a final parade around the City Circle and enter the Training Center. The doors shut around us and we are swarmed by prep teams. Cliarra is smiling and helps me dismount from the chariot.

"How'd I do?" I asked as I stepped down.

"Perfect," she smiled.

"The dress was the only thing anyone saw," I told her.

"Nonsense," she said, "You make it beautiful."

"Thanks," I blushed, which I'd probably never done in my life. The other tributes are being guided into the big glass elevator, and Cliarra and I follow behind. They're surrounded by either their stylist or their prep team. The glass elevator has fifteen buttons, one for each district, one for the ground floor, which we're at, one for the Training Center below us, and one for the roof. The number corresponds with our district, making it easy to remember. We shoot upward, watching the people beneath our feet shrink. Cliarra, Dion's stylist Terri, Dion, and I get off at the fifth stop. We have the floor all to ourselves. Dion and I immediately head to our rooms.

Mine is huge. The shower panel has more than a hundred buttons. I take off the gold dress and lay it on the bed, trying not to wrinkle it. I take a nice shower and when I step out onto the mat it automatically sends a gush of warm air at my body, drying it. Placing my hand on another panel sends a current running through my hair, drying and untangling it instantly. Being the power district, we have these at home, but they don't work as well and you often have to use many electric currents to fully dry and untangle your wet hair. The wardrobe is programmable, having more than a hundred options. First you select casual, fancy, or sleep, then under each of those categories is the options of casual, or formal. Then it has you pick more specific things, such as color, and temperature it will be worn in. Finally it provides you with a variety of clothes. When you select one digitally, there's a whirring sound and the doors open to reveal it. I don a light green shirt and tawny pants, like the ones I wore on the train and continue exploring the room. Yet another panel by the window lets it zoom in and out to see whatever you want in the beautiful city of the Capitol, but I set it to show the patch of night sky above the horizon instead. A giant mouthpiece in the corner of the room lets you order whatever you want from a huge menu next to it, but before I can try it, Levitha is back, calling me to dinner.

The stylists are there, although our prep teams are absent. A young man whose hair is dyed completely red offers us all glasses of wine. Everyone except Terri and Elena decline. I've had wine before, but I need to keep a clear head. The young man is joined by an even younger girl who looks to be about 12 years old. She looks familiar, but I can't have seen her before. I've never been to the Capitol before now. The dinner starts with a creamy soup, which is delicious. "Chicken and Gnocchi soup," the young girl called it. I could eat it all day, but the young man is back with the next course, salad sprinkled with cut carrots, celery, and baby tomatoes. Fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive in District 5, so we don't get fancy ones like this often. Next comes the main course, rare prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. Throughout the meal, a basket of rolls remains on the table for us to eat if we wish. The meal ends with a bowl of fresh strawberries each and a pot of chocolate. I watch Cori carefully dip his strawberry into the chocolate and cautiously do the same. It's delicious. It's all delicious. What do people in the Capitol do besides eat all day?

After dinner, Levitha and Cori lead us to the TV in the sitting room, where they're broadcasting a rerun of the opening ceremonies. Having watched the other tributes during the parade, I mostly focus on us. We get a decent amount of applause, probably a bit more than 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, or 12. Poor Tessaraea and Ore were dressed in coal miner's getup, their bodies powdered black and their outfits tattered. 10 made out just about as well as us, dressed in wide-brimmed hats with fake whips in their hands, like they were about to ride off in pursuit of some runaway cattle. I'm relieved to see my smile and waving didn't seem too forced, knowing I never could have pulled that off back in District 5. We retire to our rooms once it's over, leaving our mentors and stylists to talk.

When I wake up in the morning, I find my wardrobe dysfunctional and an outfit laid out for me instead. Black tight-fitting pants, a light blue sleeveless shirt, and flexible leather shoes are laid out at the foot of my bed. I dress quickly and head to the dining room for breakfast. Even though it's early, Levitha, and Cori are already there, sipping cups of a steamy brown liquid. Coffee. Cliarra sits across from them, cooling a mug of tea, and pats the chair next to her, inviting me to come and sit. I gather some scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh melon and go sit at the table to eat. The young man server offers me a glass of orange juice and I accept it gratefully. Dion comes in a little bit later, but looks alert and awake for our first day of training. Finally, Levitha and Cori stir.

"All right," Levitha announces, drawing our attention, "You have to decide now. Do you want us to coach you separately or together?" Dion and I eye each other. Cori watches us over the rim of his cup.

"It doesn't matter," I say. Dion nods.

"There's two of us, it'll be easier if we just coach you separately," Cori tells us.

"Separately then," Levitha agrees. "Etolia, if you'll come with me?" I push back my seat from the table and Cliarra gives me a reassuring smile. I suppose she thinks I'm nervous about meeting the other tributes, but the truth is, I'm not. I have to make allies. Besides, we already know we're going to end up killing each other. It's not like it's some big secret. Levitha leads me to a medium sized room. It's bare except for a desk with two armchairs. I sit in one with Levitha across from me, studying me.

"What?" I finally ask.

"Give me an idea of your skills," she commands.

"I've trained with a sword, but I can only handle a light one," I tell her, "I prefer using knives when I can. I've done a bit with a bow and arrow as well."

"Hmm," Levitha says, "This is not so good. In your private training session, on the third afternoon, you're going to want to show the Gamemakers a good skill. But you seem to be decent at many things. That doesn't attract their attention well. It's better to have one excellent skill. Hmm…"

"Well, there's always the electrical side," I offer, "Everyone in District 5 is good at that."

"I think that may be best, if you have the resources to do it in the Training Center. Do whatever you want, but note if there's equipment to set up something electrical. Don't go after useless skills, either. Are you planning to be in the Career pack?"

"Probably," I answer with a sigh. Levitha nods but doesn't comment.

"That will be your source of food, the Cornucopia. Don't bother with edible plants and such. Learn weapons and learn tactics. And most of all, don't make enemies and get yourself trusted. Go for Sapphire, District 1, or Mya, District 2. Also, what may be even more important than training, is _watch other tributes_. See what they're good at. See who they're friends with, so you can watch for possible betrayals in the arena."

"Got it," I nod.

"Okay," she agrees, "Get in the elevator, training's due to start soon."

I follow her instructions and arrive at the Training Center. About half the tributes are already there, lumped in small groups. We mill around until the rest of us arrive and the instructor gives us leave to start. I head immediately for the spear station. The expert there hands me a spear. I try to aim as he tells me and throw at the target. I miss by a couple of inches and it glances off the wall. He hands me another and I position myself to throw again. I manage to hit the target this time, but only on the rim. The expert gives me a few tips and I try again. All of a sudden, my hand is directed back into the throwing position, guiding it through the movements. I release it and the spear stabs straight in the middle. I turn to see a smiling Sapphire Goldrine behind me.

"That," she says, "is how you do it." I wonder why she chose me to help and not one of the other tributes. She will obviously be a Career, so why doesn't she go recruit Ari? She, at least, comes from a Career district. We work together a little while longer, her helping me aim the spear correctly.

"You should come and eat with us at lunch," she requests. But I see behind the simple offer to the real thing behind it. By sitting with the Careers, I'm signing up to join their pack in the Arena.

"Sure," I say, and smile at her. She smiles back and throws the spear, skewering the dummy through the neck before she leaves my station. After a couple more practices, I move on as well, but keep a closer eye on my fellow tributes.

Almost not in time, I duck to avoid an arrow whizzing over my head, heading straight for the girl from District 2, Mya Greys. Luckily she turns and deflects it with her shield. Ari hold the bow in her hands, looking mortified. I feel like giggling. Mya gives her a sympathetic look before turning away. Ari sets the bow carefully down—as though afraid it might explode—and moves on. As I head to another station, I note that the boy from 10, Kobe, and Mya seem amicable to each other. They join Ari at the knives, although working with her or teaching her I cannot tell.

The bell rings, and, remembering my promise to Sapphire, I sit next to her at lunch. The Careers all sit at one table, but Sapphire seems to be the leader. Her district partner sits on the other side. We get food from the carts and start to talk. I notice Ari isn't sitting with us. I guess she declined Mya's invitation to join us. Never thought she was Career material, anyway.

Suddenly talk stops as Ari joins our table, beckoned by Mya. We all stare at her for a few seconds before returning to our food. "Hi," Ari says hesitantly.

"So," Mya begins, "Ari, this is the Career table. I'm glad you joined us." She picks up a roll off her plate and pulls off a piece, eating it. We all watch in silence. She finishes, and then says, "Hello! Why doesn't anyone say hi? It's not like she bites!" We all look down again, and I'm waiting for one of the nasty Careers to make a stab at her, but I have the feeling that's not the kind of reception Mya wants for Ari. Ari jabs her fork into a fairly big piece of meat and looks around for her knife. I frown, thinking she forgot to get one, before I see Velvito, District 8, slipping her knife under the table. She takes a big bite out of it, and then seems to realize we're all still watching her.

"What? I have something on my face?" she asks through her mouthful of beef.

Amethyst laughs. "She doesn't bite?" he asks Mya, who turns slightly pink but holds her ground.

"I meant that she doesn't bite other people."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Pearanya, 3, jeers. But Mya doesn't retort anything back, which I understand. She can't risk her rank in the Careers to defend Ari. "I'm sure she would bite if her life is in danger. Which would be quite soon," Pearanya points out.

"I would kill her now. She eats just like an animal. It's disgusting," Sapphire says. The other Careers chortle, and me with them. She came from District 4. Surely they could afford to teach their children proper manners? At least she's better than District 12's Ore, who's scarfing a chicken thigh with his bare hands. Sapphire has obviously seen Amethyst's prank on Ari. Ari puts down her fork.

"Well, anyways," Mya says, trying to mend the rift, "Ari, this is Sapphire." She introduces her. "Amethyst. Of course you know I'm Mya from District 2, and this is my brother, Moliask." At the sound of "brother" Moliask glares at her. Some sibling rivalry, I note. "This is, um, Pearanya, right?" Pearanya rolls her eyes and nods, making the cuckoo sign behind Mya's back. "Garilee, your district partner, and Velvito from District 8." Velvito doesn't look up from his food. "Oh, and this is Etolia."

"Hi," I offer before returning to my plate of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and rolls.

Introductions over, Sapphire begins, "So, since we're the Career pack, we should guard the Cornucopia, right?" she asks. I nod, as do the rest of the Careers. Except Ari. Sapphire looks at her sharply. "Ariella? Do you not agree?" she asks.

Ari shrugs, still looking down at her food. After a couple seconds, she looks up to say, "That is only if there's nothing else more important. Say, like, there's an ultimate food supply in one place. Then, you guys should guard there and will also control the food source while eating all you want at the same time."

"Yes, I was going to say that," she says sweetly. Sapphire gives a "well, duh" look around the table, which I totally agree with. Ari needs to get with the program here.

"Well, then that's—" Sapphire continues, but she's cut off by a scream. We all turn to see a girl, Icanya from 9, holding her throat in terror. Another girl, Meryll from 8 is trying to help her. Icanya is choking. Medics rush in and inject something into her. They announce it's all right, that she was just allergic to the peanuts in the cookie. Everyone is quiet, but I can tell from some of the looks getting passed around at the Career table that some of us wish she'd died; one less tribute to kill.

Eventually talk resumes like it was before. Per Levitha's instructions, I try to make allies with the other tributes and not enemies. Sapphire and I like each other, and Mya is friendly as well. I suspect some of that is because I was the only one to greet Ari when she first came. Other than that, I secretly find most of them obnoxious or brutal. Amethyst, Moliask, Garilee, and Velvito all seem to fit that description. Pearanya isn't as bad, but we would definitely not be friends back in District 5. Kobe, from 10, another recruit of Mya's, can't seem to keep anything serious and makes dumb jokes throughout the meal. Ari, however, is quiet and doesn't even interact with Mya when she tries to talk to her. All in all, I wouldn't bet that Ari sticks around with the Careers for much longer.

**Sanctuaria's A/N So what did you think? Leave a review! Or Ari's next accidental arrow might hit you…**

**Review of the tributes:**  
><strong>District # Girl Name, Training Score Boy Name, Training Score<strong>  
><strong>1 Sapphire, ? Amethyst, ?<strong>  
><strong>2 Mya, ? Moliask, ?<strong>  
><strong>3 Pearanya, ? Bermiath, ?<strong>  
><strong>4 Ariella (Ari), ? Garilee, ?<strong>  
><strong>5 Etolia, ? Dion, ?<strong>  
><strong>6 Teribia, ? Yassarith, ?<strong>  
><strong>7 Lethalissima, ? Quistor, ?<strong>  
><strong>8 Meryll, ? Velvito, ?<strong>  
><strong>9 Icanya, ? Hatmic, ?<strong>  
><strong>10 Atonia, ? Kobe, ?<strong>  
><strong>11 Blossom, ? Urness, ?<strong>  
><strong>12 Tesseraea (Tessa), ? Ore, ?<strong>

**So, the origin of the names. Some of you who have read my Sanctuary or Eragon stories might have noticed some similarities. I'm just not that creative *smiles apologetically***  
><strong>For example, for Etolia's last name, Akari, I just changed the u to an i. Akaru was how I originally thought akhkharu was spelled (Sumerian for blood demon, or "vampire"). Pearanya's last name, Elestros, comes from electricity. Icepath-Snowwing created Pearanya's first name while thinking about pears—<strong>_**Pear**_**anya. Lethalissima—lethal. Atonia, which I made, comes from atom. Tesseraea comes from tesserae (odd thing for the parents to name a child, hopefully we'll get a chance to explain it later). Teribia—terrible. I was not listening to Celine Dion, believe it or not, when I named Etolia's district partner. It was only later I realized the similarity. Yassarith—Icepath-Snowwing's name, so I'm not sure about this—sounds a lot like "Nazarith," a city in the Bible. Velvito—velvet. Cliarra was based off what I always imagined Arya (from Eragon) to look like. Blonde hair, not black. I guess my brain sort of skipped the description of her hair in the book. Oh yeah, and Sindi I described as: **_**The third is also female, for which I am grateful. She smiles at me, and I see that her canine teeth are elongated more than is natural and end in sharp points. Her nails are also abnormally long, filed to be more like claws. **_**Sanctuary watchers, remind you of anything? I should've known I can't write a story without at least one vampire or an elf in it. This one has both!**  
><strong>Okay, that's it. Wow, that's a long author's note. Forgive my rambling. <strong>  
><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>

**A/N RAWR! These were not correct….**

**Pearanya- Yes… I was thinking of pears. Pears had just arrived at my house from my aunt and they are DELICIOUS! If only we hadn't finished all of them…**

**Lethalissima- correct**

**Teribia- … there was no inspiration there…**

**Yassarith- … no inspiration yet again. For names, I had actually written letters on the back of a sheet of paper and randomly picked which one to use for each district…**

**Hatmic- when I picked "H", the first thing I thought of were hats. **

_**THANK YOU Sanctuaria for getting some meanings wrong (note the sarcasm)**_

**There! I hope it went well. I'm starting to like Etolia more and more, but of course Ari is better. ;) Review s'il vous plait!**


	7. Chapter 7: Threats

**A/N Hi! Guess what? It's an update! That's amazing considering how slow it has been. So sorry about that.**

**"You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me**

**You have knocked me off my feet again, got me feeling like a nothing**

**You with your voice like nails on a chalkboard calling me out when I'm wounded**

**You, picking on the weaker man"**

**From "Mean" by Taylor Swift**

**You'll know who this is talking about once you read this chapter.  
>This is the last disclaimer I'm going to do. DISCLAIMER: Sanctuaria and I do NOT own the Hunger Games which means we are not Susanne Collin(s) Lol. There are two! jk<strong>

**Enjoy and review s'il vous plait**

**By the way, my story is the cleaner version (language wise. I will beep everything out) If you want the not so bad version (it's not really bad, I just prefer to not have it) then go read Sanctuaria's posted story called Reunion. It's the exact same story except she doesn't beep everything out.**

~Training Day 1- Part 2~

"Hi," I whisper when I join Teribia from District 6 at the fire-making station. The girl, who looks to be around 12, stares at me wide-eyed. I gulp and look down. She continues to watch me closely as I quickly manage to light a fire. She stares down at her rocks and piles of sticks. I hand over a few leaves that produce a slight oiliness and put them into her pile. She looks at me and back down at the rocks in her hands. "Try it." She looks up at me again and then strikes the rocks together. A spark flies, but nothing catches on fire.

"Again," I prompt.

Teribia strikes the rocks together and once again a spark flies, but does not light anything. She makes a concentrated face and strikes the rocks together once more. A spark hits the leaves and a tiny flame glows for a moment. Soon enough, the whole pile was on fire. Teribia smiles and looks up at me. "Thank you," she says quietly, and runs quickly away.

I watch her for a little bit, thinking how nice it would be to have a little sister. Mya interrupts me from my thoughts.

"Daydreaming?" she asks, a hint of laughter laced in her voice.

I shrug. "Maybe."

Kobe chuckles. "At least our terrible girl seems to be able to make a nice shelter," he says, pointing over at the shelter station.

Puzzled, Mya and I follow his gaze and see Teribia inside a nice looking shelter complete with a roof and a door. I watch the Gamemakers pointing at her and making notes in their tiny notebooks.

"I suppose so," Mya answers, not really caring. She looks at the fire she was building and blows it out. "So how's it going?"

"Fine." I shrug again. We work in silence for a little bit, Kobe making a lame joke here and there.

"If you asked how I was doing, I would say 'nicely' and talk about the Careers' strategy." She glances over at me expectantly.

I sigh. "I think I'm going to go to take a nap and maybe have a little bit of ice cream. I'm going to go." I wave at them as I head out and think about Mya's offer to join the Careers as I press the 4 button on the elevator.

ooOoo

~Training Day 2: Part 1~

_"Allies are something you should never obtain. They will betray you and you will be broken. Then there will be no chance for you to come back." _That was what Irinead, my mentor, had said to me when I told her I was associating with Mya and Kobe. Why she doesn't like that, I'm not exactly sure. I think back to her games. I believe that was the 47th Hunger Games. She had joined an alliance with some tributes that died in the bloodbath and was left one ally. That ally left her and she felt like she was betrayed by the whole group. She's probably paranoid, though. I mean, everyone who goes into the Games and comes out are always changed. And I mean ALWAYS.

But, of course, I'm not going to listen to Irinead. She is so annoying and paranoid just like my parents. And this time I SO don't love her. I wish I had chosen Alyeska. She looked a lot nicer and wasn't as violent in the Games. But I heard she can be a little cuckoo in the head sometimes. I wonder if I made the right choice. Even that old Mags would be nice compared to Irinead. I guess I was wrong about Irinead. I thought she was the youngest and the most likely able to give good advice.

Anyways, I guess I'll just do my own thing and won't do a thing if Mya or Kobe stay with me. I mean, they're nice people, I guess. So why not? I don't really believe they'd betray me. And anyways, I think I want Mya or Kobe as my allies. I know it looks like they're leaning towards the careers, but they'd be great allies. I'm sure of it. Why wouldn't they be? They're talented, nice, and I really don't think they'd betray me.

ooOoo

CRACK! I stare, horrified with the result of me throwing the ax. The steel ax had sliced through the air... landing in the camouflage table. It had snapped in two. But one thing I'm glad that didn't happen was that no one was hurt..., or killed. Then I'd already be a murderer and a killer before even the Games started. Well, that is only if you don't consider when I kill a spider of an ant that I accidentally step on. 'Cause who knows how many times that's happened? And besides, I don't think anyone would be considered innocent of not murdering something if that is the definition of murder with the peacekeepers. Just imagine a little kid tattling on someone for stepping on a beetle. Now, imagine an adult instead of the little kid. That'd just be insane.

I wince and look away to see Sapphire right next to me.

"How's the ax going, sweetheart," she asked, smirking, and looking perfect like always.

I closed my eyes to not lash at her. But if this kept on going, I was going to snap some time.

"Oh wait, I see..." She laughed. It was definitely fake, and it was a little like she was scoffing at me. I glare at her and walk away to the plants station. If I didn't, she for sure would have been hurt. Or perhaps me. The instructor seemed a little surprised that someone would stop by. She quickly showed me what was edible and what was poisonous.

"This one is deadly. Don't eat it or you'll die just about instantly once you swallow." She wouldn't even let me touch the berries. It's not like I plan to kill myself or anything.

"Hi! Can I join you ladies? You seem to be a bit lonely." I look behind my shoulder to see Mya behind me with Kobe behind her. I smile. Kobe seems to be glued to her side these days. I wonder how that'll work in the arena, though.

"Sure. I'd love your company. And... you too, Kobe."

She smiles and Kobe doesn't make a joke for once in his whole life. I guess he's not paying attention. If only he didn't make a joke and was sincere for a moment.

We work in silence for a little while.

"So," she begins, "have you rethought about joining the careers? Personally I think you should. We would be a great and mighty pack." She tastes a mint leaf and makes a disgusted face.

I would normally laugh, but I'm busy biting my lip. "Well... sort of. I had actually been thinking..." I pause, unsure if I should go on. "Do you like the Careers?" I ask suddenly.

Mya looks at me sharply. "Of course…" she whispers slowly.

I'm betting she actually doesn't, but I won't say anything. "Well," I bite my lip again. "Sapphire is the leader, right?"

"Yeah… I guess so. No one else seems to be taking the leader spot, and trust me. Being leader is a tough job." She looks at me in the eye and I stare into her gray eyes.

"Well…" My heart is racing and I'm really unsure if I should go on. I look down.

"Yes?"

"I really don't like Sapphire. And, since she'd be the leader, I don't think being in her group would work out for me. I'm sure she'd murder me in my sleep sometime soon since she doesn't really like me. She won't hesitate to kill anyone either." I don't think I should have said my last opinion. It wouldn't have any effect on Mya since she probably won't hesitate to kill either. "She's mean, cruel, brutal, and selfish. I don't think you should join her either." I pause. "Would you be my ally?"

Mya pokes at a plant, obviously trying to look occupied. I gaze at her steadily until she starts to squirm a little under my gaze.

"Well," I prompted.

Mya freezes and looks over her shoulder, wide-eyed. She looks back at me and her stony face is masking her real emotions. "No… my allegiance is with the Careers." She stares down at her feet and drops the plant she's holding. She walks away. I stare after her and look down at my shoes. My fingers stop moving over the leaf I've been holding when I feel a feathery-light breathing on me. I blink and don't move.

"Well, well. I see where you stand. Don't worry. I plan to kill you in your sleep. That, or make a particularly bloody death for you. You need to behave, sweetheart, and then fate may not bring death upon you so soon." Her whispering makes my skin tingle in a bad way, and my neck hair is standing on its end. I can feel a slow, creepy smile making its way on her face. My heart starts beating faster again. She moves away and I turn around slowly to watch Sapphire retreat to the combat station.

I look up at the expert at the station and apologize. Then I walk away to sit in the corner by myself. I watch Lethalissima and Quistor at the spear station. Lethalissima seems to be doing well, always hitting the target close to the middle. On the other hand, Quistor does not seem to be doing as well. At all. He, in fact, could be the total opposite. There's a ghost of a smile on my face as I see the expert of the spear station dive underneath a spear which narrowly missed him.

Throwing spears doesn't seem quite that difficult, considering it looks like just a dagger, sort of, on the end of a stick. Not much. It should be just like throwing knives. I consider going over there when I see a spear being thrown towards me. I duck with a grimace. Quistor must've had a wild throw there. Maybe I shouldn't go there after all. I might get skewered before it's lunch time and then I'll have no luck in the arena at all. All the odds would not be in my favor. Maybe I'll have barbecued skewered meat for lunch, I muse to myself. No, no. No time for jokes.

I look around at everyone else and Meryll from 8, the textiles district, catches my eye. She's at the traps and snares station with Icanya from 9. I watch them and notice Meryll instructing Icanya how to work with it. I walk over.

"Hi. I'm Ari," I offer.

"Icanya," the girl from 9 grunts. She walks away from us and starts at the camouflage station.

"Ok," I say, drawing out the O in the word.

Meryll finally turns to look at me after finishing up a complex looking trap. "Hi there! I'm Meryll. District 8." She holds out her hand and I shake it instantly. I smile as I remember yesterday when I had totally blanked when Mya was going to shake my hand.

Meryll smiles. "Glad to meet you. So how's it going?"

I shrug. "It's ok, I guess."

She looks at me closely and I guess she can tell I'm holding things back from her. But, I'm glad she gives me the benefit of the doubt. "I see. Can you make traps or snares?" She points to a picture of the most complicated one. I look at her trap and the one in the picture. It's exactly the same. Impressive.

"Not really." I point at her trap. "Does that work well?"

Meryll laughs. "I hope so!" The expert smiles and gives her a piece of rabbit fur. She lightly brushes it over her trap and it snaps shut instantly. The expert gives her a nod.

"Excellent! You're one of the best I've seen!" He winks at Meryll, but she doesn't notice.

"So?"

I sigh. "I really can't do anything."

"Then try it. Maybe you have a natural talent for it."

I look down at the picture of a snare and gather the materials I need. It looks like only a wire coiled around. I glance at her, a little puzzled by how to make one. Meryll takes my hands and guides them to help me make the snare. When it is finished, the expert hands me a piece of rabbit fur and I brush it along the snare. It catches it alright, but it is so loose that any live prey would easily slip out of it. The expert takes my snare and fiddles around with it for a moment. He sets it down, unsure of what to do. Meryll takes it and pokes around.

"There," she announces. "It's better." She takes the rabbit fur and brushes it against the snare once again. It traps it and Meryll tugs at it. It doesn't budge.

Meryll helps me make a new one and when we test it, it works wonderfully.

"Not a natural, but decent," the expert muses.

Meryll smiles at me and I beam. Being called decent from an expert is definitely a compliment.

I'm starting to like Meryll a lot. She's nice, helpful, and cheerful, too. I look at her closely. She's about to walk away from the station to probably join the girl from 9 at the camouflage station.

"Wait! Meryll!" Meryll stops and turns around, walking back to me slowly.

"Yes?" she asks.

"I, I really like you and your personality. Um…will you," I pause. "Will you be my ally?"

She looks at me and I blush. "No."

I stare at her, shocked. "No?"

"No." She stares at me with her big, brown eyes.

"W-why?" I manage to splutter.

"I don't trust you and I don't know you. So no." She doesn't lower her gaze and I feel uncomfortable standing by her. She finally lowers her gaze and walks away. She joins Icanya from 9 at the camouflage station and I can already hear them laughing together.

No? How could she just refuse an alliance with me simply by saying no? Just because she doesn't trust me and doesn't really know me doesn't mean I'm a bad person to ally with. I walk away from the station, hurt.

ooOoo

Before I walk over to the Career table I notice Etolia from 5 is sitting next to Sapphire again with Amethyst sitting across from them. Mya is sitting across from her brother who is on the other side of Sapphire. Kobe is sitting next to Mya and my district partner is sitting across from Kobe. On the other side of the table, sitting next to Amethyst is Pearanya, and sitting next to Pearanya is Velvito, the boy from 8.

"Hey, can I sit here?" I look down the table to see everyone spread out with plenty of room, but there was no way I could squeeze in between someone. No one responds. "Will you move over?"

Sapphire glances at me. "Can't you fit in? There's plenty of room over _there_." She points to the other table. I look down. I can take a hint that I'm not welcome here, but I am stubborn and I want to sit here. Why can't I, anyways? It's the Capitol's territory, not hers.

I frown. "No, there's plenty of room here."

Sapphire, for once, looks at me in the eye. "Are you too fat that you can't fit next to Etolia?"

I bite my lip and shake my head. "I can't sit there." Sapphire gives a huge sigh and scoots over very slowly. "There. Happy?" She glares at me.

I nod and take a seat after Etolia follows Sapphire's lead. Why does she have to make a big show of it? It's not like it's a big deal or anything. I look down at my sandwich and carefully place a tomato in between the two pieces of white bread.

ooOoo

~Training Day 2: Part 2~

I stare down at my shoes as all the tributes swarm to a station. As I think about Sapphire, I can slowly feel my stomach churning. I hold my breath, run out of the room, and slam the 4 button with my fist as I imagine Sapphire killing me in the most brutal and bloody death. I sink to the floor and bury my head in my hands when I feel hands on my shoulder and the woman in charge of the elevators helping me up. She steers me back into the training room and explains softly, but with a firm tone, that we have to stay there a bit longer before heading out for the day. I nod, barely able to comprehend what's happening.

Sighing, I head over to the knife station and throw a few at the targets. All of them make it to the target, but never close to the center. This is odd. Normally, back at home in District 4, every single of my knives that I threw at the targets made it, bulls-eye. I frown and throw another one, adjusting to the strangeness. It lands closer to the middle, but still way off. I growl in frustration when I hear a crack from the ax station.

When I turn around, I see Etolia on the floor with an ax still in her hands. I walk over and watch things play out. Nothing really interesting happened. Normally, I would've laughed, but I only have a ghost of a smile on my face. I feel a strike of sympathy for her until I remember her scooting WAY over during lunch like I had leprosy or something contagious like that. My smile fades and I turn back around and walk over to the spear station. I pick up a spear and the expert shows me how to hold it. It's a lot harder than I thought. When I finally throw it, I wince to see it bounce off the wall, yards away from the target. Yikes. I guess it's not like throwing knives or a trident. The trident is heavier and the knives… they're a completely different species. I grimace and try again, this time only missing by a few yards; not as much as before. I sigh and make a note to not use a spear in the arena. If I had a fight with another tribute in the arena with only a spear on hand, I know I'd be dead. There is no way I'd make it out of the fight alive, unless I use some randomly awesome hand-to-hand combat skills; which I don't have.

When I glance around to look at everyone else, I notice Etolia and Mya sparring together: knife against sword. I'm a little interested by how that'd work out, since I've never fought with someone using a sword. I run over, eager to see how it plays out. Etolia seems to be having a little bit of a problem attacking. She seems ok with defending herself, although it doesn't seem quite right. I think for a moment, but can't come up with a reason.

I watch, amused, when Mya hits Etolia with her sword butt. I'm glad Mya's winning the fight. I'm not sure why, but I laugh to myself as I turn away and choose a knife from the table, quickly balancing it in my hand and go back over to the pair. Etolia's in mid-swing when I speak.

"Let's show her how it's done," I say, a smirk on my face. I can't help but let the adrenaline take over everything I'm doing.

Etolia shoots me a look. "Actually, I'm going to go now. Thanks for the tips, Mya."

"You're welcome." Mya comes at me right away, but I'm prepared. After training for a long time in District 4, I'm just about always ready when there's a knife or a dagger in my hand. I bet I'd be ok with even a cleaver. You know, those huge rectangular hatchet things that cooks use. Even though I can fight with a knife, I bet I'd cut my hand off if I'm cooking. Cooks are talented. I shudder, giving Mya a little bit of an advantage to catch me slightly off guard. She's coming at me on my right side, but I quickly deflect it out of instinct. Using the knife makes me feel like home and it quickly becomes an extension of my arm. As she's withdrawing her sword back into a defensive position, I notice that she seems to like to play defensive a lot. Always attacks, and draws back to defensive. That's always a good strategy because your opponent has to know when you're about to attack so they can get in close and take a swipe at you. That's where tensing of the muscles come in. I remember when an instructor at our District training center showed me how the muscles tense and you can sort of predict where your opponent's going to end up next.

I keep my knife close. I fake to the left and right, but she doesn't move. I guess I'll just have to watch her body to see if anything happens. I thought for one moment that she was going to attack on my left, but the tensing stopped and she looked a little hesitant. I bet a glimpse of a frown entered my emotions, but I quickly mask them with a stony expression. Mya stares at me, narrowing her eyes. It doesn't make much of an effect on me, but it's still slightly intimidating if I ever have to end up fighting her.

Mya attacks and I am totally unprepared for it. I had let my thoughts wander. Stupid, stupid, stupid! If I was in the arena, that wouldn't not be good! My head would probably impaled on the sword. Out of instinct, which is very good that I have one, I defend myself from the blow to my side, right below my ribs. I risk a glance at Mya and see she was surprised. I guess she expected more from me. Well, I will tell you something. I will give her more.

She takes a swing at me again and I duck, the sword nearly severing my head. That is, if the sword was not blunted. Not paying attention again! Have I lost my touch or something? I would swear if I was the swearing type, but I'm not. I know Mya has been watching me carefully and I hear her laugh. She knows I'm not focused. I glare at her sword and see her tense a muscle. I am finally prepared when she lunges at my left and I easily dodge her sword and swing my knife before stopping abruptly at her throat. She can feel the blunt blade there before she can bring her sword back into the defensive position. Knowing that if we were in the Games and I was willing to kill her, she would've been dead by now.

She sighs as if she is saddened by the thought that our fight is over. "You're good enough, although I doubt either of us fought to the best of our ability." She lets her sword fall to the floor with a clank. "You really should join the Careers," she whispers as I pass by her to return my knife to the table.

I pretend I didn't hear. No. No. There's no way I'm joining the Careers. Sapphire would kill me in my sleep. Not peacefully either. Brutally.

ooOoo

~Training Day 3: Part 1~

"You did WHAT?" Irinead screams. I flinch. I had not expected this reaction when I had told her about the Sapphire deal, my ally troubles with Mya and Meryll, and just plain not doing much over the past two days of training. Or maybe she was ticked off about me coming back early yesterday and the day before that.

Garilee walks into the room, probably to ask Irinead a question, to see Irinead clutching the wooden chair, her vein in her wrist popping out. He stares at me, Irinead, and then back at me.

Irinead seems to finally calm down and the vein in her wrist doesn't seem to pop out as much anymore. "The train is rolling. And you know where you are?" She stares me down. I look at my feet. "Under it! And the wheels are going to smash your face!" she screams at me. I won't cry. I can't cry. That just makes me look weaker. "You need to pick it up and get back into the train. I don't care if it's boxcar. I don't even care if it's in the bathroom! You just need to get back on before it crushes you and you get left behind. So tomorrow I expect you to try everything to the best of your –BEEP – ability! And if there's anything that's potentially easy for you, you –BEEP– better keep trying it! But don't waste your time daydreaming and talking to stupid people that aren't going to help you!" Irinead lets out a string of swearing and storms out of the room.

A tiny tear slips out and I quickly wipe it away before Garilee sees it. "I'm sorry." My lip trembles and I run out of the room. I guess I'm not going to tell Irinead about my private training session strategy.

ooOoo

Out of all the mentors, I chose Irinead. Why would I do that? There were four mentors for me to choose from: Mags (who I didn't choose 'cause she is kind of old), Jazzy (who I heard tends to be very unpredictable), Cam (who is insanely violent), and Irinead. Now, I wish I had chosen the old lady or Jazzy, or I suppose even Cam. But I had to choose Irinead because I thought she wouldn't be harsh. I thought she'd be more protective. Guess not. If I wanted that, I should've chosen Mags.

Garilee also got to choose his mentors. He had five choices: Branchon (a super duper old guy who is even older than Mags), Typho (the insanely violent victor from last year's games who is even worse than Cam), a morphling named Cha Cha (yeah, I know. It's a stupid name), and Hiast (a victor who has the habit of talking your ears off). He chose Hiast because he's probably the best mentor out of the lot. I would have chosen him too. But since Hiast tends to go into long stories (and I mean really long), Garilee sometimes comes to Irinead. I guess he views Irinead as the better mentor. I don't blame him. There are times at dinner or breakfast or lunch, that I just want to put super glue on Hiast's lips. It'd seal them shut for sure.

I push the 0 button on the elevator to take me down to the training center. As Garilee and I are going down, we avoid looking at each other. The silence seems a little bit overwhelming so I speak. "Have a plan for the Gamemakers?"

I can see out of the corner of my eye that he glances at me. He shrugs. I roll my eyes inwardly. I guess he doesn't want me to know a thing about him. It's not like I plan on telling everyone everything. But whatever. He can keep his secrets and I will definitely keep mine, although I'm not sure what secrets I have.

The elevator stops and the doors open. We walk in silence into the room and I look around. It's just slightly past ten. We're late and there's only two other people here. I swiftly glance at Atala, the woman in charge, and see she's not doing much. I catch a glimpse of one of the Gamemakers. I'm guessing he's the Head Gamemaker since he's sitting in the center of the table and has a little notepad out. He's scribbling something down and looks up to find me staring at him. I quickly look away. I'm planning on skipping out and going back to the elevator when I remember Irinead yelling at me about this train analogy thing. That's when I hear the tribute from District 5 calling me over.

"Hey Ariella, come over here!" I freeze, uncertainly, but eventually decide to make my way over there.

"He's not going to bite," says Etolia. I glare at her as I skip by. She _had_ to bring up the Career joke about not biting. I'm starting to hate her. She thinks she's so good.

"District 4, right? You know how to use these?" the boy asks. I look down to what he's referencing to and realize they're tridents. I didn't know they had tridents here and I'm betting a ghost of a smile reaches my face.

"Yeah, sure." I pick one up and at the feel of having something familiar from home, can't resist the urge to twirl it around in my fingers. "Everyone in District 4 does, even if they weren't one of the ones using tridents on fishing boats. I wasn't," I state simply. I throw it at the target and it falls. I walk over, pick it up, and pull the trident out of it easily. "See? Nothing to it."

The boy, Dion I believe, picks one up and throws it. The expert at this station ducks; the trident narrowly missing his mohawk. "Oops."

I laugh. Throughout this whole trip, or whatever you want to call it, I haven't felt the home feeling until now. Then I notice Etolia come over. She picks up the trident and I glare at her again. She ruined the moment _and_ is a jerk. Kissing up to the Careers and all.

"Come on, throw it, Etolia," he says. Etolia steps back and throws it. Somehow it flips in the air and the back sticks into the wall. She just demonstrated how NOT to throw a trident. I double over laughing when I remember teaching the first-graders how to throw them.

Back at home in District 4, it's traditional for the some of the best trident throwers in sixth grade (around age 11) to teach the first-graders how to throw tridents. I remember the smallest girl. She had mousy brown hair and the traditional green eyes. She, unfortunately, was not strong and ended up throwing it just like Etolia did. The end ended up in the wall (not the target) with the prongs extended our way. She had burst out laughing. Actually, I don't quite know why she had burst out laughing. I mean, if I was in her position, I would've started bawling. Being embarrassed in front of all your classmates was not fun.

When I finally look up, still laughing, I see Etolia giving me an icy glare. She doesn't look very happy. "Let's see you shoot an arrow, Ari!"

I don't move for a second. Then I turn to her slowly. All trace of laughter is gone. Thanks for ruining the best moment I've had since I got to the Capitol. I glare at her and then turn my gaze to see a small crowd that happened to be watching us.

Sapphire seems to be entertained by our little show and gives Etolia a thumbs up. I glare at Etolia once again and then go back to looking at our audience. I turn away and stalk off to have some fun knot-tying.

Eventually the rest of the tributes come in and join us. After Etolia's and my little argument or whatever you want to call it, I am in no mood to do what Irinead told me to. Sure, she can swear at me all she wants, but I'm not going to do a thing for her.

ooOoo

Once again, I'm the last one to leave the training center. Tying knots are so much fun and they remind me how I should've appreciated District 4. I pick up my plate of a traditional District 4 dish and walk over to the Career table. Once again, no room for me.

Sapphire sits on the end, Etolia next to her, and Mya occupies the seat next to Etolia. Then next to her is Kobe, across from him in order going towards Sapphire are Moliask, Garilee, Pearanya, Velvito, and Amethyst at the end.

I let out another sigh. "Can I sit here?"

Sapphire looks up at me straight in the eye. We stare at each other: blue eyes to green eyes. "No, I don't think so," she says evenly, "Shoo." I narrow my eyes at her and at her last words, a string of synonyms come at me.

"Vamoose," Etolia says, staring at me. She turns to look at Mya.

"Go away," Mya says quietly. I'm not sure if she regrets what she's saying.

"Scram," Kobe offers. He doesn't even seem to care who he's speaking to.

"Get lost," Moliask says. His icy stare bores into me before he returns back to his food. Then he looks at Garilee expectantly.

"Beat it." Garilee doesn't seem to care either. Well, thanks for being such a loyal district partner. Now you're on my kill list. As is everyone else at this table.

"Poof," Pearanya says in a high voice. I wonder if that's her natural one.

"Hightail it," Velvito comments.

"Outta here." Amethyst points to the other table full of everyone else.

What did I expect? Of course everyone follows Sapphire's lead. She is the leader after all. I was just hoping that Mya and Kobe would actually act like friends and back me up. I guess not. We're enemies now.

Before I know what I'm doing, I push Sapphire's plate of food off the table and it shatters on the ground. Then I jump up, sit on the table right where her plate used to be, place my plate on the table and cross my arms. It is so quiet in the room and I bet everyone's looking at us now. Whatever. It just shows that I'm not to be pushed around.

Sapphire jabs me in my side and with a yelp, I hop off the table. That's when I smack her, hard, on her arm. It leaves a stinging red mark there. I walk calmly away after grabbing my plate again and sit down at the end of the table on the other side of where everyone else is sitting. I know everyone's still looking at me or Sapphire.

Because of the silence in the room, I can hear Sapphire whispering at the Career table. Obviously she's not trying to, since it's quite loud so everyone can hear it. "In the arena," she begins, "I kill her. My way. Anyone who doesn't bring her to me will face the wrath of the Career pack." I guess she's talking to basically everyone in the room. It's still silent. I jam my lips together, forcing myself to eat and not to react to her words.

Soon enough, a woman by the bread cart calls Amethyst over. I guess the private sessions are about to start. I'm not sure what I want to do. But I better figure out soon.

After about fifteen minutes, Sapphire gets called. Then Moliask. Then Mya. Normally I would give her a few words of encouragement, but after the "incident" there is no way I'm going to be nice to her.

Before I know it, it's my turn. I still have no idea what to do. The woman walks me over to the training room and opens the door for me, while telling me that I have 15 minutes with the Gamemakers.

When I enter the room, I notice that the Gamemakers are seated above the training center. Everyone but one is watching me. The one exception is refilling his goblet with wine. I wrinkle my nose in disgust when one of the Gamemakers reminds me that I'm supposed to be doing something. The first thing I do is drag a dummy across the room and position it perfectly. Then I pick out ten knives. I start to throw when I realize why I'm not hitting the target in the center. They're blunt. The fact that they are blunt affects their balance and how well they are thrown. I frown and mentally smack myself for not remembering this.

I continue to throw and eventually make the bulls-eye on my tenth throw. Gritting my teeth, I quickly arrange a place to start a fire around the dummy's feet. A few Gamemakers are looking at me strangely, but most look bored. Probably from my terrible throwing. I take the oil from the wrestling station and pour it over dummy, making sure it soaks it up. Then I start a fire. The fire quickly leaps up into the air, searing a bit of the ceiling. I hear a few yelps of surprise and possibly terror from the Gamemakers and frown. Something's missing… I need to do something more. I frown when the Head Gamemaker addresses me.

"Miss Pebblestep. You are dismissed."

Ouch. He said "you are dismissed" instead of "you may leave now". That's worse, isn't it? Giving the "option" to leave is better than being firmly dismissed.

I walk out and kick the wall in frustration. I probably got a 1. I deserve a 0. Ok, maybe not quite. But terrorizing the Gamemakers or setting a fire and just leaving it there? What was I thinking? I bang my head against the wall when I hear someone walking towards me. I turn around and see Mya walking towards me.

"Hey, Ari," she says uncertainly.

I look at her and that's when I remember the "incident" in the dining hall. "What?"

"I- I'm sorry about lunch." I glare at her. Mya swallows. "Really. I didn't really want you to go away. I just felt obligated to join in. Please. Can we be friends-"

I unleash my anger from lunch and from my private session. "No. You're just trying to get on my good side. Just shut up. Go away. And I mean it. Just leave me alone. If you were really my friend then you would've stuck up for me. I hate you," I hiss. I stalk into the waiting elevator and let the doors close before Mya can join me.

"I hate you," I repeat, sobbing into my arms as I slide to the floor of the elevator.

ooOoo

"So," Tillie Ash begins for the first conversation at dinner. I'm surprised Hiast hasn't spoken at all yet. I guess he senses that now is not the time to start jabbering away. "How was the private session?" Garilee and I don't reply.

"Oh, come on," she fusses. "Just tell me. How about you, Garilee? How were you?" Garilee looks up from his food and glances at me. "I think I did fine."

"Don't you want to tell me more," she asks, making a puppy face.

Garilee shakes his head.

Tillie sighs resignedly. "Fine. How about you, Ari?"

I look up from my dish of meat and potatoes and shrug. "It was ok." She pouts again since she can't get anything more out of me. Tillie pushes her food away from her and gets up slowly.

"Well, do whatever you want. Just make sure you watch the training scores with us in the other room." Garilee, Hiast, and I stand up and put our napkins on the table. The avoxes quickly pull our chairs back so we can walk away. Irinead decided to skip out on dinner today.

ooOoo

Tillie, Hiast, Irinead, Garilee, and I are staring mesmerized at the TV screen in the sitting room. The Capitol anthem plays with their seal and Tillie pulls out two pieces of paper and two fountain pens. She gives one of each to me, and then Garilee.

First up is obviously District 1. Sapphire gets a 10 and Amethyst gets an 8. Mya and Moliask come next. Mya gets a 10 and Moliask gets a 9. Bermiath gets a 6 and Pearanya, 9. I'm up next. I hold my breath as I see my score appear. A 5. That's terrible. Careers are supposed to get the 8 to 10 range! Irinead looks at me sharply and I pretend not to notice her. Then Garilee gets an 8. Hiast tries to give him a high five but Garilee ignores him. Then Etolia gets a 9, Dion, 7, and Teribia a 1. A one? What? How is that possible? Next, Yassarith gets a 5. Then Lethalissima 8, and Quistor, 7. Next, District 8 Meryll gets an 8, and Velvito gets an 8. Icanya from 9 gets a 9, Hatmic gets a 5. Next, Atonia gets a 6, and Kobe a 9. I glare at his face on the screen. Then Blossom gets a 4 and Urness gets a 4. The last two, Tessaraea and Ore, both get a 4.

Then the Capitol anthem plays and the seal reappears. Tillie turns off the TV and looks at us. "Congratulations, Garilee." She doesn't say anything to me and walks out of the room. Irinead glares at me and Hiast just walks out of the room too. Just Garilee, Irinead, and me left. That's when we hear a little bit of screaming. We all look at each other, but Irinead's eyes are smoldering so I walk out of my room and go to my bedroom. I guess a 5 is ok. Not good, not terrible. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to get sponsors by my interview. Which reminds me. Interview prep tomorrow and then the actual interview in the evening. Awesome.

ooOoo

Nothing really happens the next day. First, I receive my interview dress which is splendid. It's the exact same shade as my reaping dress. There is black flowery lace over it on the skirt part. The short dress is strapless, but I'm okay with that. Then they apply a medium amount of makeup to match the dress. When I look in the mirror, I can barely recognize myself. For once, I understand what people mean when they say I have pretty eyes. The blue makeup and dress enhances the color and looks absolutely spectacular. I'm so pretty that I almost faint. _Almost._

Then I spend 3 hours with Tillie Ash, and she doesn't seem unhappy with what I can do. I suppose it's decent since she isn't snubbing me or anything. Walking in high heels for 3 hours is tiring, but Tillie thinks I'm fine with them. Mainly, she's trying to have me keep my chin up. Then Garilee's up. Tillie fusses over him for apparently 4 hours. I guess he doesn't really know his proper manners well.

Around 6 o'clock, Garilee pops in to ask if I wanted anything to eat before the interviews. He says he's asking because Tillie wants to know. I frown in thought when I answer him no. I bet it'd all come up during the interview.

Then it's 6:30. Irinead barges in without knocking and just tells me to wing it. "Lie if you have to. I don't care. Just make yourself likeable. And make up an excuse for getting that –BEEP– 5."

I glare at her at 6:45 when she comes to get me for the interviews. "Best to arrive on time," she says.

My heart is pounding as I wait for Garilee to join us. I used to be hoping that I would get sponsors through this interview. Now, I just want to get it over with. I don't want to panic too much or I just might get a heart attack and die in front of all of Panem. Actually, that'd be a fairly good idea! But no, I'll take my chances in the arena and hope Sapphire doesn't get me. Basically, I hope I don't die anytime soon.

**Wow. That was one long chapter. 16 pages on Microsoft Word. _16!_ Anyways, please review. Hope you liked it! I can't wait to get into the arena which will be in, what? 4 chapters? I think so.**


	8. Chapter 8: Whittling

**Sanctuaria A/N Hi everyone! My chapter again. I must say, poor Ari. I really loved Icepath-Snowwing's last chapter, I'm I'm suspecting many of you did as well. So, _slight_ swearing notice, and here we go!**

**Wait, song lyrics, I forgot.**

"**Our song is the slamming screen door,  
>Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window<br>When we're on the phone and you talk real slow  
>'cause it's late and your mama don't know<br>Our song is the way you laugh"**

**"Our Song," by Taylor Swift, representing the good times Etolia had with the other tributes during training.**

I survey the room. Mya—with Kobe stuck to her side like glue—is talking animatedly with Sapphire. Ari and Teribia are by the fire-making station. Urness and Blossom are stunning the edible plant expert. Ore is moping around by the snares. Atonia is watching Kobe and Mya with an unreadable expression on her face. I suppose she is jealous of the attention he's giving to Mya and not her, his district partner. And here I am, at the bow and arrow station. As I pull pack on the string, I smile, remembering Ari's shot. I let the arrow fly and hit the target dead on. As well I should've, since I've been here at this station for the last three hours, ever since we got back from lunch. The instructor smiles and I nock another arrow. Just as I release the bowstring, I'm distracted by some commotion. I turn and my arrow flies upward, slicing neatly through a cable up there, emitting a shower of sparks. A few of the Gamemakers are looking at me and nodding, thinking I did it on purpose. Well, that's fine with me.

I look around for the source of the commotion. An expert is beating at Kobe's arm with a wet rag. Kobe is standing there, laughing hysterically as Mya does the same. It's easy to see what happened. He set himself on fire for Mya's amusement. I thank the trainer and set the bow down. I go over to them, smiling.

"Hey Mya, hey Kobe," I say as I approach.

"Hey," they reply.

"Nice stunt with the fire," I tell Kobe.

"Bopping bobble-head," the Capitol woman in charge of the fire station mutters. From the way Mya's burst out laughing again, I'd say that's a Capitol swearword.

"Where'd Ari go?" I ask.

"Oh, she left," Mya answers, still chortling with mirth.

"Off to," Kobe quotes, imitating Ari's voice, "take a nap and have a little ice cream!"

We all laugh again, getting weird looks from the tributes around us and an indulging smile from Sapphire.

"All right, everyone," the woman in charge calls from beside the elevator doors, "Your first day of training is now over. The next day starts tomorrow at ten!" We all troop toward the elevator in small groups. Sapphire comes over to talk with us.

"Any more recruits, Mya?" she asks.

"Just one I'm working on," Mya replies, brushing her hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear, "You know, the girl from District 4. Ari." Sapphire makes a face.

"You really think we need _her_?" she asks.

"She's nice," Mya replies.

"Okay," Sapphire says as we step into the elevator and she hits the 1 button, "Whatever."

**~~o0o~~**

The next day isn't much different from the first. Instead of training, I go team up with Mya and Kobe right away, knowing they'll like my plan. I really don't feel like training today.

"Kobe! Mya!" I whisper, beckoning them. I whisper my plan into their ears and they nod, grinning slyly. I head over to the shield station, standing next to Atonia. Neither of us greet each other. Kobe and Mya go to the knife throwing station. Mya picks up a few of the knives, holding them up to the light, pretending she's deciding which one to use. When she holds up a nice thin bladed one that folds in like a pocketknife, I pick up the wooden shield off the table. She practices throwing it a few times at the target—bulls eye every time—while Kobe moseys around the table.

"Ow!" he screams suddenly. Too loudly, the other tributes will notice, but the experts won't. Everyone looks at him. The expert rushes over to him. He holds up his finger, which is actually bleeding quite a bit.

"It cut me," he tells the expert, who picks up the long knife and rushes away with it. Can't have a sharp knife on the table. A medic comes in to attend to Kobe's hand, and Mya gives a casual flick of her hand, sending her knife into my shield. I pull it out quickly while everyone is still watching that table and fold it up. I slip it into my pocket.

Kobe seems to be enjoying the attention. He flashes me a wink as the Capitol medic bandages it tightly and the expert gushes a million apologies to him. There's a loud _CRACK!_ and everybody turns. Ari's there at the ax table, staring, horrified, at the camouflage table, which has cracked in half. Sapphire sidles up to her, speaking to her. Does Ari have to break something with everything she touches? Ari moves on to the edible plant table, where Mya and Kobe join her. They have a conversation, and Mya abruptly walks away. Sapphire says something to Ari, who looks angry and upset. _Somebody got reeeeeeee-jected!_ I think, smirking. I give a thumbs up to Sapphire. She smirks and smiles.

I'm glad Ari is alone. Last year, the boy tribute from District 4 won the Games. But he was brutal. He had nearly all the tributes on his side, with the Careers. He was their leader, from start to finish, picking his teammates off from the first day by leading them into bad situations that weren't his fault from the other Careers' point of view. Just bad decisions, that's all. For instance, on the fifth day, he sent the District 1 and 2 tributes on a secret mission to destroy the group who were planning to desert that night. He told them to hide a bit away from the camp. Then he told the rest of the Careers that those tributes had deserted and were planning an ambush for them. They simultaneously destroyed each other, while he guarded the camp, safe and sound. He thought he was invincible, and boasted about District 4 all the time both during and after the Games. Maybe it's wrong of me, to base this off one guy, but anything that reminds District 4 tributes that they're no better than any of the rest of us is a score in my book.

I glance around furtively. Ari is preoccupied at the snares table with Meryll and Icanya. Mya and Kobe are talking with Sapphire while she exchanges blows with Amethyst at the hand-to-hand combat station. I slip under the cloth of the spear station, hoping Ari won't hurl a snare at this table. I take the piece of bark out of my pocket and turn it over in my hands. Whittling is a pastime that often calmed me down in District 5. That and singing. It helps me focus, creating something beautiful and letting me think at the same time. Not that I particularly need to think right now. I just don't feel like socializing and training.

I take out the knife from my pocket and start to shave off wood chips. I was taught how to do this particular skill by a boy in my class. I spent many a recess carving soap into shapes with an old steak knife. As I got older, I began to carve wood too, although not as often, as it was a scarcity in District 5. I look down at my carving to see that I've begun to carve a cow. Odd choice, less than a week before the Hunger Games, a cow, but you don't choose what to whittle. It just…comes out. No other way to explain it. It's inexplicable.

Sometimes whittling letting you think is a bad thing. Like now. My thoughts wander back to the District 4 victor from last year again. Another thing he, Typho, did, was kill cruelly. Right off the bat he declared that all people found had to be brought to the Career camp for a public killing. I knew the District 5 male tribute last year. He was caught by Caiai, male, District 2, on the third day. Caiai knocked him over the head with the butt of his sword, bound, and dragged him back to camp. They tied him to a stake they had pounded into the ground and waited until he came around. When he did, all the Careers took turns punching him. Then Typho ripped off the boy's shirt and cleaned the blood off the boy's chest from the blows. He then gave leave to Caiai to carve his name in the boy's stomach before they killed him. He cut into the boy's stomach amid the boy's screams, all the other Careers laughing. After he'd carved _Caiai_, Caiai slit the boy's throat. But wasn't all, no. The Careers had set up camp by the lake. Typho cut pieces out of the boy to use as bait for fishing. Finally they let the hovercraft take the boy up, all mutilated and bloody, but the name etched in his stomach clearly visible. It wasn't just the boy. He and their Careers, under his leadership, did that to _all_ their victims.

That boy from District 5 had been the one who taught me so many years ago to whittle.

The person in charge calls us all for lunch. I duck out from under the table, stuffing the cow and folded knife in my pocket. Hopefully no one notices the pile of wood shavings under the table until later. It's not like I could've scraped it off with my fingernails or anything; they'd know I have a knife. But they're worried about me committing suicide with it, slitting my wrists. I didn't. And I'm not going to. So no problem.

I sit down next to Sapphire again after filling my plate. Most of the other Careers are there already. Moliask seems to have beat Amethyst to the seat next to Sapphire this time, and Amethyst is narrowing his eyes at him from across the table. Next to Moliask is Garilee, Ari's district partner. Across from Garilee are Mya and Kobe, who are laughing and joking with Velvito (all the way on the other end of the table), who is ignoring them and eating quickly with a scowl. Next to Mya is Amethyst, and next to him, across from Sapphire and I, is Pearanya. She's just listening to the conversations around her (or, in some cases, the lack thereof) and I feel like I should try to make friends with her, since she's from District 3, which is closely allied with District 5. We make up the "technical aspect" of the Careers.

Before I can think of a conversation starter, Ari walks up, holding her tray. "Hey, can I sit here?" She glances at all of us. There's room in between each of us, but not enough for her to squeeze into unless we scoot over. Why is she here, anyway? She declined the invite to join the Careers, and Mya and Kobe rejected her. "Will you move over?" she asks.

Sapphire looks up. Everyone is either looking at her or at their plates. "Can't you fit in? There's plenty of room over _there_." She points to the other table. Hopefully Ari can take a hint and get that she had her chance. Sorry Ari, not even you from your perfect snitty _District 4_ can have the best of both worlds.

Ari frowns. "No, there's plenty of room here."

"Are you too fat that you can't fit next to Etolia?" Sapphire asks.

Ari pauses, biting her lip, and then shakes her head. "I can't sit there." Sapphire gives a dramatic sigh and scoots over very slowly. I follow her lead, staring at my food, refusing to look at her. "There. Happy?" Sapphire asks. Talk resumes at the Career table, and I scoot as far away from Ari as I can without intruding in on Sapphire's personal space. Nothing against Ari, except the fact her district's tribute last year had been a brutal maniac, but I won't be accepted with the Careers, especially since I'm from District 5, not a Career district, if I'm seen fraternizing with the enemy. I'm beginning to think Kobe had the right idea. Latch onto a Career who likes you, and you've got it made, even if you are from District 10. And annoying. But maybe I'll try that this afternoon.

**~~o0o~~**

Well, this afternoon did _not_ go as planned. First, when we got out of lunch, Mya and Kobe were nowhere to be found. I mean, where could they have gone? Under the tables, yes, but I would look like a complete idiot looking under the cloth of each station's table for them. So I went off to try something new. Until now, I'd been avoiding new things (well, except for the spear, which I never really got the hang of). I headed over to the ax lady amid the pounding noise of sword against shield as Sapphire and Garilee banged away at each other, handling a sword and a shield each easily. She explained how to hold one and then let me choose which one I wanted to use. I picked up a medium sized one with large blades on each end, hefting it into the air.

"Trying something new?" Mya came up behind me.

"Oh, yeah, we'll see if any good at chopping people's heads off," I joked. Mya stared cryptically at my weapon.

"Not really my thing," she admitted.

"Okay," I backed up, giving myself plenty of room. "Well, here goes."

"Raise it above your head, to about two o'clock," the instructor said briskly. I lifted it above my head, relying heavily on momentum, but missed the two o'clock position. It went past my head and I fell over backwards, landing hard on my butt. The ax cracked into the floor where Mya's foot had been moments ago.

"Yeah, like I said," Mya told me, "Axes really aren't my thing. For good reason." She holds out her hand and pulled me to my feet. I set the ax back on the table. "If I didn't know any better," Mya said conversationally, "I'd say you were trying to kill me. You do know the Games haven't_ started_ yet, right?"

"Oh shut up," I told her. Above, some of the Gamemakers were snickering, and I felt like telling them to shut up too. But I really didn't think that would help my training score.

So now here I am, feeling like a moron. That and my tailbone hurts.

"Let's go use some knives," I say. Anything to get away from the axes.

"Okay," Mya agrees. We go over to the knife station, which has had a steady stream of visitors all day, but now we're the only ones.

"Throw or fight?" I ask.

"Which one do you need practice on?" Mya asks.

"Fighting," I shrug. "I can't seem to fight knife against sword. My survival instinct—my instinct to stay _away_ from the long blade—prevents me from getting in close."

"All right then," Mya says, "I'll get a sword. Shield too?"

"Doesn't matter," I reply, going over to the mat. I take the knife off the table most like the ones I have at home and prepare myself for Mya's onslaught. She comes at me quickly—a quick slash to the side—and I parry reflexively, catching her blade on the flat side of my knife. As I was taught, I simply use it as a block for her sword and don't try to force it back. Knives aren't for tests of strength. They're for speedy, too-fast-to-see-coming moves. Mya's too smart to fall for the trick where I let her blade slide across the flat of my knife; she brings it right back into the defensive position in one fluid movement. If she hadn't, I would've had a few precious seconds with her sword down, not able to block. She comes down on my head and I roll under the blade, coming up right in front of her. I'm moving to press the blade against her throat and claim my victory when she smacks me in the head with her sword butt and kicks me away, dazed, with her foot. She spins her sword in a quick circle at her side and feints toward my right ankle. I don't see the trick coming, and she reverses and bangs me hard on my hip.

"Look where I'm tensing," she says. She repeats the move and I see what she means.

"Need any help?" a voice behind me asks. I turn mid-swing to see Ari standing there, holding a knife. She goes to Mya. "Let's show her how it's done, Mya."

"Actually, I'm going to go now," I say, speaking to both of them but looking at Ari hostilely, "Thanks for the tips Mya."

"You're welcome," Mya says and slashes to Ari's right. I walk away and wander over to the edible plant station. It's plants. How hard could it be? The expert hands me a bunch of leaves and herbs and berries and tells me to sort them into three piles: poisonous, edible, and medicinal. I spend the next half an hour grinding and gnashing my teeth over the stupid leaves. In the end, I get only three of the thirty right. The delicious-looking luscious pink berry ends up being the most poisonous thing he handed me. I get the basil leaf and the mint leaf right, though. Edible. Basil is often is in the pasta we have on Sundays in District 5. Everyone eats the same there. Our meals are on a tight schedule. It also makes our district more closely knit than others.

The first example is how a seventeen year old would volunteer for a thirteen year old, even they had never met them before. And then there's the food. Perhaps it's why I like the luxury of choosing my food here in the Capitol. Our meal schedule goes like this:

Day Breakfast Lunch Dinner After-Dinner Dessert  
>Sun. eggstoast/fresh fruit pasta w/ tomatoes beef/potatoes/salad one piece of chocolate  
>Mon. grain mush soup fishasparagus none  
>Tues. grain mush sandwich chickenbroccoli none  
>Wed. bread and butter soup chickenkale none  
>Thurs. grain mush sandwich lambcelery none  
>Fri. grain mush soup fishasparagus none  
>Sat. rollspastry w/jam sandwich pork/carrots fresh fruit

I think our meal schedule comes from the Dark Days. The Capitol cut us off from all other districts in order to have us not be able to power their machines and weapons. But that also meant no food shipments came in. We got clean water from groundwater, but we had to make all the food we had last for five months. We set up a food schedule. There would be no district five it wasn't for Elijah Wood.

He was an old man who lived alone and hobbled around on his own with a cane for as long as anyone could remember. All the children were afraid of him and his speech was so garbled no one could understand what he said. But as soon as District 5 realized they would get no food for the next five months, he immediately volunteered his stock of food. No one had known he had been stockpiling food for the last fifty years. There was enough to feed the entire District 5 if they kept to a strict schedule. The practice of sharing food and using a schedule just never went away after the five months or after the man died, three years later.

Nowadays food is shared by everyone, and Elijah Woods is hailed in school as a hero. This also keeps District 5 from having a rich and a poor class. Every family is basically equal in terms of food. Of course, there's always the few who have been cast out from the main group but have nowhere to go. These people were caught stealing—even with the food sharing—hoarding food even when people needed it, or turning someone in to the Peacekeepers when they did nothing wrong. There's about ten or so in District 5 right now. The mayor never follows these rules. If he weren't the mayor, he would have been cast out years ago. But unfortunately that's in the Capitol's hands, not ours.

Anyways, back to the basil. I set the plants back on the table and thank the instructor. He bids me good day after advising me that a very nutritious tea can be made by boiling pine needles. Ari and Mya are done fighting on the mat, and the knife station is occupied again. It's Blossom and Urness. I look around for Mya to see her working with Ari again. Still trying to recruit her, is she? Or is she just trying to straddle both worlds? In my opinion, she's just going to end up hated and hunted by everybody. Except maybe Kobe, who is still latched to Mya's side. Leech.

I join Sapphire at the knot-tying station. She's struggling with a length of wire. Easy-peasy. Note to self: equipment for electrical traps in your private training session is at the knot-tying station. I take up the piece of rope not being used and start to tie a knot. It's standard enough, but I cannot seem to manipulate the rope into the correct shape. It's too floppy. Sapphire glances sideways at me and laughs. I grab the metal rope from her and she snatches my rope. We turn away from each other as to not show each other what we're doing and we turn at the same time, the completed knots in our hands. We laugh and trade again, giving each other tips until the woman in charge calls, "All right, your second day of training is now over! Report back here tomorrow at ten and remember that we will start calling you out for your private training sessions during tomorrow's lunch!" We all troop out. At least I can tell Levitha I know what I'm going to do now.

**~~o0o~~**

I awake bright and early the next day to watch the sunrise above the Capitol from my window. To my surprise, nothing is laid out at the end of my bed and my wardrobe is fully functional again. Spring green tunic, tawny pants. I think I know why I like those colors so much. Somewhere in my muddled mind I think they make up for the lack of plants and nature in District 5. I brush my hair back and mosey down to the dining room.

By the time ten o' clock rolls around, I'm thoroughly tired of sitting at the table, eating, even with all the delectable foods to try. Levitha and Cori finally bid us to go down for our last day of training and remind us do well in our private sessions. To my surprise, we're the first ones there. I look up and the giant gold clock and, sure enough, it's ten o'clock. The woman in charge looks slightly puzzled by the lack of attendance, but lets us begin training on time. I'm unsure exactly where I want to go, having planned to join up with Mya or Sapphire this morning. I walk on over to the archery station for some last minute practice. After a few minutes of awry arrows, I resume at the level I left off. Some fifteen minutes later, the door opens. _Oh, good, it's Mya and Kobe,_ I think. I set down the bow and turn to greet them.

Ari pauses and looks around, startled that we're the only ones here. She starts to back up into the elevator again, obviously not comfortable being in here with just us. "Hey Ariella, come over here," Dion calls. She pauses uncertainly.

"He's not going to bite," I tell her, snickering, remembering the Career joke from the first day. She narrows her eyes at me and flounces over to Dion's station.

"District 4, right? You know how to use these?" He gestures to the array of shiny tridents laid out. Ari looks relieved to see something familiar.

"Yeah, sure," she says, picking one up and twirling it around neatly in her fingers. "Everyone in District 4 does, even if they weren't one of the ones using tridents on the fishing boats. I wasn't." She throws her trident with enough force to knock the stupid pig statue off the Justice Building back home. Stupid pig. What kind of pig has wings? If pigs can fly, I'm a catfish Ari ate a week ago.

"See?" Ari says, "Nothing to it." Dion picks up a trident and throws it at the target, the expert ducking to save his mohawk from being slashed off.

"Oops," he says. Ari laughs. It's not a mean laugh, but somehow it irks me. I go over to the station and pick up a trident. Ari stops mid-giggle to watch me hostilely. Dion, on the other hand, is grinning sheepishly and gestures for me to proceed.

"Come on, throw it, Etolia," he says. I do, and the back sticks into the wall a few feet from the target, the three prongs extended. Ari bursts out laughing again at my attempt. I turn on her angrily, eyes icy and cold.

"Let's see you shoot an arrow, Ari!" She freezes. She faces me slowly, her eyes smoldering with anger. I'll never know what we would have done next, because we both noticed them at the same time. We turn to see Sapphire, Amethyst, Meryll, and Velvito watching us. Sapphire has an amused expression on her face and gives me a thumbs up. Velvito is looking bored and pretending to whack Amethyst on the head. Amethyst, realizing what he's doing, pushes him away. Velvito knocks into Meryll, who, until then, had been staring at Ari with an unreadable expression on her face. Meryll, staggers, off balance, and promptly steadies herself on Sapphire's shoulder. Sapphire's slap comes almost too fast to see, but Meryll, lurches away, a red mark visible on her arm, bumping into Velvito, who gives her a death glare. I'm reminded of dominoes. Sapphire strides over to the spear table, followed by Amethyst. Meryll goes to the shield station.

Over the course of the next hour, the rest of the tributes trickle in, including Mya and Kobe. I join them at the sword station, where I prove exactly how inept I am with a heavy sword. Mya twists the sword out of my hand with the flat of her blade every time when I have anything but the lightest sword. I simply can't move fast enough. At exactly noon, we are called to lunch. We get our food from the carts—one of which features district breads—and sit down at the Career table. Sapphire sits on the end, me next to her, and Mya takes the seat to the left of me. Next to her is Kobe, and across from him, in order going towards Sapphire are Moliask, Garilee, Pearanya, Velvito, and Amethyst on the end.

Once again, Ari comes over. "Can I sit here?" she asks.

"No, I don't think so," Sapphire says, looking up at Ari. Mya and Kobe stare down at their plates. "Shoo." She turned to me.

"Vamoose," I offer, looking Ari directly in the eye. I look at Mya.

"Go away," Mya says in a small voice.

"Scram," Kobe says without looking up.

"Get lost," Moliask agrees, staring at Ari with cold eyes. He looks at Garilee.

"Beat it," Garilee says to his district partner.

"Poof," Pearanya tells her in an unnaturally high voice.

"Hightail it," Velvito says.

"Outta here," Amethyst finishes, pointing toward the other table. Ari's eyes flash with anger. In one movement, she pushes Sapphire's plate off the table. The plate shatters. Ari hops up onto the table and sits there with her arms crossed. Everyone in the room is staring now, wondering how Sapphire is going to react. Sapphire jabs Ari hard in the side and she leaps off the table, smacking Sapphire in the arm. She walks formally out of Sapphire's reach and sits down at another table. You could hear a pin drop in the room now. Everyone is either staring at her or Sapphire. We have all publically rejected Ari, so after her little outburst, there's little more she can do. Even her "friends," Mya and Kobe participated.

"In the arena," Sapphire says in a soft, deadly voice, "I kill her. My way. Anyone who doesn't bring her to me will face the wrath of the Career pack." It was said quietly, but it was meant for everyone and everyone has heard. Ari hides her reaction well, however.

Up by the food carts, a woman calls Amethyst's name. The private training sessions have begun. Amethyst rises and enters the Training Center. Every fifteen minutes or so, they call another name. Sapphire. Sapphire disappears through the door into the training center after a wink back at us, the Careers. Moliask. Mya. Bermiath. Pearanya. Garilee. Then its Ari's turn. She rises slowly and walks to the door. Everybody watches her go. Sapphire and the others haven't come back yet. Kobe looks a little lost without Mya, so I scoot over closer to him to talk, even though I will have to go soon too. The Career table is nearly empty. But he will be one of the last to go. They call Dion, and I'm starting to get a little nervous. Around twenty minutes later, I'm called in.

As I enter the room, the first thing I notice is the Gamemakers. They sit above the Training Center, watching me enter. A few of them are eating from the banquet in front of them, or drinking from crystal goblets. But most have their attention on me. I make my way over to the camouflage station. Along with the paints, there are different objects that might be in the arena we can use. Blades of grass, leaves, sticks, shards of glass, and bits of wiring. I scoop the wires up and head to the knot tying station next. More of the Gamemakers are fixated on me now, frowning slightly. I suppose I have confused them. At the knot tying station, there's rope and then there are metal ropes. I scoop these up as well and feel along the wall for the hidden panel. I have all of the Gamemakers' attention now. Finally I find it and pull it off. I spend the next five minutes separating the strands in the metal rope. I select one and attach it to the power outlet. I then rig the rest of the wire so it's between me and the archery station's dummy. It still has arrow marks on the heart and neck from this morning, but it doesn't matter. I pick up a knife from the table and throw it at the dummy, skewering it in the heart. The Gamemakers are nodding now, but a few are still confused about the rope. Ugh. How the hell am I supposed to show them that without frying myself?

I looked at the knife on the table and I gently drop it on the wire, so it won't cut through. Blue electricity jumps from the wire to the knife as it falls past it to the floor. I look up at the Gamemakers expectantly. They're all nodding, or have the hint of a smile, and some even look impressed. I suppose, after District 5's disaster of a bid for victory in last year's Hunger Games, they didn't expect much of me. Well, I showed them. The Head Gamemaker clears his throat.

"You may go Miss Akari." I nod respectfully and walk out past the Avoxes into the elevator.

**~~o0o~~**

"So, how were you tonight?" Cori asks us during dinner. Levitha watches me over her bowl of fruit.

"Okay, I guess," Dion volunteers, "Did some spear work like you said."

"What were their reactions?" Cori presses.

"A few of them nodded," Dion shrugs, "One smiled at me."

"And you?" Levitha asks.

"Okay. Good maybe even. I got a chance to show off my electrical skills and my knife throwing. I found the panel on the wall and hooked up a trip wire from the knot table and threw knives across it. Then I demonstrated the electricity flowing through the wire with a second knife."

"Okay," Cori said, clapping his hands together, "You both did a great job, and you can be excused to work with your stylist until the training scores are televised tonight." We both pushed back our chairs and stood up.

"Is that supposed to be a reward or a torture?" Dion asks once we're safely into the hallway. After a few seconds pause, Cliarra leads me off to a room I've never been in before. She tells me to stand up straight and tilts my head up to the light, holding up a scrap of green cloth up to my face.

"Perfect!" she says.

"What's perfect?" I ask, feeling stupid.

"Your interview dress will match your eye color," she replies. "Now, I've got to create a look for you…how do you like your make up applied? Light, medium, or heavy?"

"None?" I offer sheepishly.

She laughs, a tinkling sound that somehow reminds me of falling raindrops. "Light then. And what's your district token?"

I pull the thin strip of the paper out of my pocket. "This worthless thing, from the mayor."

She looks in surprise at it. "You don't know what that is, do you?"

"It's…something?" I ask.

"Etolia, this is a tattoo," she says.

"Oh," I say for lack of anything better.

"I can apply it for you tomorrow, if that's what you want," she offers, "I don't think we have time today before they broadcast the scores."

"Actually, I think it's time right now," I tell her.

We all gather in front of the TV in the sitting room, Dion and I on the couch next to one another and our respective mentors and stylists behind. I take up my notebook again and jot their scores by their names. Sapphire, 10. Amethyst, 8. Mya, 10. Moliask, 9. Bermiath, 6. Pearanya, 9. Ari, 6. Coming from a Career district, ouch. Garilee, 8. Me, 9! I smile and Levitha ruffles my hair. Dion, 7. Teribia, 1. One? What the heck did she do to score a one? Yassarith, 5. Lethalissima, 8. Quistor, 7. Meryll, 8. Velvito, 8. Icanya, 9. Hatmic, 5. Atonia, 6. Kobe, 9. Good for him. Blossom, 4. Urness, 4. Tessaraea, 4. Ore, 4.

A scream comes from above and we all look up at the ceiling. District 6 is right above us. Teribia, I'm guessing, with her score of 1.

She's half screaming, half crying at her mentor. "I SPENT ALL THAT FREAKIN' TIME TRYING TO BUILD A FIRE! AND I DIDN'T EVEN SUCCEED! THE GAMEMAKERS WERE FALLING OUT OF THEIR CHAIRS; THEY WERE LAUGHING SO HARD AT ME. I'M GOING TO DIE IN THE ARENA; I'M GOING TO DIE…" Teribia went on, crying hysterically. Dion and I glanced at each other.

"She spent…all her time…building a _fire_?" I asked. Dion started giggling, and I joined in.

**~~o0o~~**

The next day seems to pass too quickly. Maybe we are supposed to be doing something, but all we really do is eat and sit around. Oh, and I got to practice walking in these golden sandals, but that wasn't hard at all. Unfortunately, Elena Sosot was teaching that. Now it's four in the afternoon, and I haven't seen Levitha or Cliarra all day. The interview will be tonight, but I don't feel very prepared. That's all the prep I get, learning to walk in sandals? I am going to fail this.

Around six o'clock, an hour before the interview is scheduled to start, Levitha walks in.

"Oh, good, there you are, Etolia," she says, "Ready for your interview?"

"Uh, no?" I say. "I'm supposed to have a strategy!"

"You do, and I'm assigning it to you now. Be yourself."

"Myself? That's…that's not a good idea."

"If you were in District 5, then yes, I'd agree with you. But you're in the Capitol. If you don't want to answer the question, lie. I think you're good at that—"

Yelling from below interrupts her. Somebody, a woman, is yelling at someone else. "Lie if you have to! I don't care! Just make yourself likeable. And make up an excuse for getting that frickin' 5!" Levitha and I glance at each other. "Irinead," she says, "Ari's mentor. Now why she didn't just pick dear old Mags, I don't know, but…" She looks around. "They really need to soundproof these walls."

**Sanctuaria A/N So! How'd you like it? Irinead is _so _nice, don't you think? Leave a review!**

**Icepath-Snowwing A/N No one's reviewing! I'm so sad… **


	9. Chapter 9: Panic & Smile

**A/N Another quote. **

"**Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me**

**And it's so sad, it's so sad, to think she don't see what I see.**

**But every time she asks me do I look ok **

**I say **

**When I see your face**

**There's not a thing that I would change.**

**'Cause you're amazing**

**Just the way you are."**

**From "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars**

**This is her talk with Meryll since I couldn't come up with anything else.**

**Guess what? We are going to have a banquet and a ball included. The day after the interviews is the banquet (dinner) and after that is a ball… so, yeah!**

**By the way, I have posted Ari's interview dress on my page. It's pretty!  
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6:50: I fidget as we wait for the elevator. When the doors open, Garilee pushes ahead without waiting for me. Huh. I guess he's not a gentleman sort of guy. It's not like I expect that from most people though. In fact, I'd actually be surprised if there was some gallant guy who lets me go first. These days, it's always "ME FIRST!" sort of thing. Never "ladies first." There are few exceptions, if any.

When I manage to shove myself into the squished elevator, I scan through all the tributes, looking at all the colors. I was surprised to see someone in green and then pink and then dark, dark purple. I look at the bearer of the royal purple to see Lethalissima. Oh. Of course. She would wear that color… I just wonder how she reacted when her stylist presented her that dress. It looks like a ball gown shaped like a pastry. And not only that, it looked really weird with her standing next to the girl with the green dress. It was kind of plain. And not interview worthy. But whatever.

My eye catches a girl wearing a white dress with silver sparkles beckoning me over. I look up to see Meryll and she gives me a hesitant smile. Trying to pretend that it was nothing, I flip my hair and saunter to her side.

"Hi!"

I laugh at her enthusiasm. "Hi. I really like your dress. It's so pretty!" Might as well get a little friendly with someone who'll be in the arena. As long as she doesn't backstab me.

She gives me a genuine smile and looks down at her dress. The silver sparkles catch the light and gives off a little shininess. "Thanks. I really like it. My stylist is a miracle-maker. I mean, I come in all ugly and she manages to make me look magnificent in this dress. I count that as a miracle."

"Really?" I look her up and down. She's not the prettiest girl ever, but she's definitely pretty enough not to be called ugly. Or at least not in District 4. In fact, she would kind of fit in if she had green eyes instead of her big, chocolate brown eyes. "I think you're pretty."

Meryll blushes. "I don't know."

I give her a look. "You are. Don't deny it." The elevator dings and the doors slide open.

ooOoo

Nervously, I await the interviews. They walk us in when Caesar announces the beginning of tonight's features: The Interviews. They have us sit down in our chairs. Of course, it's organized by the order of how everyone's going. First Sapphire, then Amethyst. Next is Mya, and then Moliask. After that is Pearanya, and then her district partner. What's his name? Well, it doesn't matter. Then it's me. Garilee sits to my left. And after him is Etolia, and then Dion comes next.

Caesar walks by to greet us but I just ignore him since I'm kind of preoccupied with not freaking out… too much, anyways. The curtain rises and I glance at the crowd before looking back down into my lap.

As Sapphire walks up, I fiddle with my bow on my dress. It's black to match all the black lace on the blue. The color reminds me of the reaping dress my mother made for me… Ouch. It brings back memories.

"Thank you, Bermiath Tapos. But now it's time to move on to our District 4 tribute, Ariella Pebblestep!" Bermiath nods and walks back to his seat next to me.

Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh, uh oh! It's my turn. _Time to panic!_ I think before trying to shake that thought out of my head. _I have to concentrate…_ This repeats over and over. _Must concentrate._ I slowly walk up and start to feel a little clammy as the spotlights follow me up to the chair by Caesar Flickerman. He gives me a hug and I hug him back a little hesitantly. Then my interview starts.

"Well, well Miss Pebblestep. It's nice to meet you."

I frown for a moment as I think of the polite response I should give. "It's my pleasure."

Caesar gives a light smile and a small chuckle. "How are you doing today?"

"Wonderful…" I don't think that's very convincing. I try again. "It's been an amazing day. And you, Mr. Flickerman?" I'd say I did better.

"Oh, I'm doing great, but you shouldn't be the one asking the questions!"

I look at the ground and wish it would swallow me up. "So sorry, Mr. Flickerman."

I hope it didn't sound sarcastic. I didn't mean for it to come out that way if it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tillie flinch and I wince inwardly. It should've been **I'm **so sorry, Mr. Flickerman. Great. I've made my first mistake.

He gives an award-winning smile and pats my shoulder. "It's quite alright. Besides, it's polite to ask about the other person, is it not?"

I feel the warmth spread to my cheeks. _Awesome._ Please note the sarcasm there…

"So, how are you enjoying The Capitol?"

I take a deep breath. _Better not mess this one up, Ari._ Then I smile out into the crowd. "I absolutely love it. I mean, it's, like, a once in a lifetime experience!" I pause in thought before I continue. I'm a little unsure of myself. "And the dresses! Isn't it marvelous?" I stand up and show my dress to the crowd. They let out an ooh of appreciation. "My stylist is fantastic."

"That's great to know! But to move on, the citizens of Panem have noticed that your reaping was… quite interesting. You volunteered so bravely and yet when you got to the stage, it looked like you were having a nervous breakdown. What were you thinking at that moment?"

_No! _I wanted to scream. This was the one question I really did not want. Why? Well, to be truthful… I actually don't know what I was thinking. I guess it's a little like I saw what I love flash by my eyes. I felt like I was dying. I mean, I just sort of signed myself up for my death sentence.

I take a breath and give a shot at acting. "Oh, well, I guess…" No! I'm blushing! No, no, no! "I guess I kind of panicked at the last moment. You know, a little nervous with all the butterflies in the stomach."

Caesar nods in approval and gives me a reassuring smile even though I can see the question in his eyes. "Oh, how we do know when we start to have a nervous breakdown. In fact, when I first started as an interviewer, I was a nervous wreck. I still get nervous these days." He turns to the crowd. "It doesn't show, does it?" The crowd cheers for him and a lot of the audience gives him a thumbs up.

I let out a nervous laugh. Caesar was really trying to help me. He's such a great guy. "No, it doesn't show. I would never have guessed."

"Well, that's good. I've got to appear together for the cameras! Now, that training score of 5 is intriguing. Considering you come from District 4, do you feel that it wasn't good enough?"

I sigh. "I actually don't really know. I normally do much better, but the training session didn't go in my favor."

"Well, those nerves do get the best of us sometimes. On behalf of everyone else, we hope that the odds are in your favor! But it looks like that's it!" The buzzer sounds and he gives me a nod of approval again. "Thank you, Ariella Pebblestep. Now we have Garilee Longue!"

I watch the interviews run by and Meryll seems to capture the audience's attention. She's probably a natural actress. She's all bubbly and manages to make the audience laugh at her sweetness. After Velvito, who is not interesting at all, Icanya is up. Her interview seems quite interesting.

"Thank you, Velvito! And next we have Icanya from District 9. How are you doing today, Icanya?"

Icanya crosses her arms. "Fine.

Caesar's eyebrows fly up. "What do you think of the Capitol?"

"Fine."

"Your fellow tributes?"

"Fine."

"Your mentors?"

"Fine."

"How about your stylist?"

Icanya pauses. "Come on! You've got to have an opinion about something!" Icanya pauses again.

Then she comes out with such an outburst that it's worthy of being compared to her bright scarlet dress she's wearing. "I hate them!"

Caesar looks shocked, probably because most tributes don't have such an emotional change. "You hate them? Do you have any particular reason?"

Icanya stands and gestures to her dress. "He put me in this stupid dress! Look at it! It's hideous!" The crowd becomes so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Caesar shifts uncomfortably. "So, what do you think of your training score of 9?"

"Fine." Hm… back to the 'fine' mode.

"Do you have any allies?"

"Maybe."

"Do you plan to get any allies?"

"Maybe."

"How about being allies with your district partner, Hatmic?"

Icanya wrinkles her nose. "Ew. No way." That gets a laugh out of the audience.

Caesar leans in, eager to get something out of her. "Oh really? Is there some rivalry between you two?"

"No."

"Do you dislike him for some unknown reason?"

"No."

Caesar sits back into his chair. "Ok… Do you have any Cornucopia strategy?"

"Maybe."

"Do you think you're a contender in these games?"

"Well, duh!"

"What's your favorite thing in the Capitol?"

"Stuff."

"Anything specific?"

"No."

"Is there something in particular that you want in the arena?"

"No."

"What do you hope the arena is?" Icanya shrugs. "Do you intend to make it to the end?"

"Duh!"

"Do you have a favorite among these tributes?"

"Maybe."

"How about Hatmic?"

"I though I made it clear that we're staying away from each other."

"Oh, yes. That's right. But that must mean you don't like him. Right?"

"Right." It's surprising that Caesar actually got a straightforward answer out of her. "I don't _like_ him or _hate _him. It's not like I _don't don't _like him." She pauses and face palms herself. "If you know what I mean."

"Sure… But you wouldn't want to team up with him?"

Icanya sighs exasperatedly. "No!"

"I see… Well, how did your private training session go?"

"Fine."

"A nine is pretty impressive since you're not from a career district." Icanya shrugs. "Did the careers ask you to join them?"

"Maybe."

"Why don't you tell us what you did in the session?"

"Oh, no."

"Why not?" Wow. Caesar results to begging.

"No."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Please?

"What part of no do you not understand?" Icanya looks angry and I wouldn't be surprised if steam started coming out of her nose and ears.

"Well, citizens of Panem, this is Icanya from District 9. Thanks…" Caesar sits up in his chair as he calls the next victim, I mean tribute, over. Icanya walks back to her seat and plops down, slouching quite noticeably.

Under my breath, I giggle a little and it starts to come out before Garilee glares at me into silence. I can't believe Icanya was willing to stand up the Capitol like that. But it was enjoyable. Still, she'd better watch out in the arena. Not only will the tributes try to kill her, the Gamemakers will probably be angry about her… not complying with the interview.

As the curtain falls, the crowd cheers wildly which makes their earlier cheering seem like whispering. The deafening screaming for more makes me think a little bit. I glance to the side and watch Kobe and Mya do something as the audience roar even louder. Huh. I guess they took over the show. With what, I have no idea. "What are they doing," I manage to shout to Garilee after the curtain comes to a close. We can still hear them screaming for Kobe and Mya. Garilee doesn't even acknowledge me and just strolls away. I purse my lips together.

I find myself looking through the sea of people and finally find Meryll. I would walk over to them now, but Icanya is talking to her. Slowly, I feel myself getting pushed towards them a little more, and I decide to give it a try.

"Hi."

"Hey, Ariel." Meryll smiles.

"Ariel?" Did she forget my name or something?

"Yes. Ariel. I like it better than Ariella or Ari. You've met Icanya before, right?"

"Yes. And by the way," I begin as I turn to the tall girl, "I was quite impressed with your interview. It definitely… caught my attention. And you look amazing in that dress, especially with your hair down in a braid like that." Icanya looks like she's about to smile until I mention her dress. Then she returns to wearing that scowl of hers. I guess that wasn't the right comment.

Meryll looks at both of us nervously. "Well, I'm glad the interviews are over."

I nod. "Most definitely." I look around the room and am astonished when I see Sapphire push over Dion. What did he do to her? Then Teribia goes up to him and starts screaming in his face and begins crying again. Apparently her stylists did not think to put waterproof makeup on her since her mascara started making streaks across her cheeks. Did I miss something important?

Whatever. Hiast, Garilee's mentor, taps me on the shoulder and I see Garilee in tow. I give Icanya and Meryll a wave before taking off.

ooOoo

"Wait, what?" I'm sitting on the velvet couch, scanning the TV channels. Well, I was about a minute ago. Right now, I'm freaking out. "Did you really just say that?"

Irinead stares at me dully. I guess she's ok with a little bit of drama. "Yeah, yeah."

A banquet. I have to go see those tributes again. You know, the people who want to kill me. And not only will I have to see them, I'm going to have to _sit down_ with them, _eat_ with them, _talk_ to them, and actually _dress up formally!_ Oh, and did I forget to say that we need to behave? No slicing our opponents up with our knives and stabbing them with our forks? _Awesome! I can't wait to die since I bet some one is going to figure out a way to get around those rules._

Irinead looks at me once more and walks out of the room. Over her shoulder, she calls back to me, "Sijardin and the prep team have your dress." With that, she walked away.

I glare at the screen and stomp out of the room without turning the TV off. Let the Capitol attendants do that. That's what they're for, right? It's time that they worked their butts off for their amount of payment. All they ever do is make your bed. And maybe clean your room of any mess. And I suppose bring you food and water when you ask for it? And perhaps they vacuum the carpets. Or clean up spills in the dining room. And iron your wardrobe. And do the laundry. And… oh, alright. They do work a lot. But still. Turning the TV off won't kill them.

I turn the corner to stalk off into my room when I bump into someone.

"Oh, so sorry," a tired voice says.

I glance at the person and immediately feel guilty. Stress creases line her forehead and she backs away, afraid that I'm going to hit her. Which I won't, of course. I slide against the wall into my room and close the door quickly, before I know she has seen the TV. I open the door a tad and look out. The TV is off and I hear a vacuum going. I close the door and walk over to sit on my bed. Mm… so fluffy. It's so incredibly nice.

A few hours later, I hear a knock on my door. It opens after a minute and Sijardin steps in. "Ariella," he says in a reprimanding tone, "you were supposed to come to us an hour ago."

I jerk upwards into a sitting position. "I was," I ask, alarmed.

Sijardin sighs and gestures me to follow him.

ooOoo

I twirl in my dark blue dress and touch the string of pearls on my neck. A touch of home. "It's so nice!" I let out a little squeal of excitement before turning to look at my stylist in the eye. "Wait… there isn't a dance, is there?"

Sijardin avoids my eyes and strides over to meet another person on my prep team. "Hm," he mutters under his breath. "Shall we add a little more eyeliner?" He makes me turn a little bit to the side. "Eh, no. It looks about right." I let out a little giggle. He just answered his own question. How weird is that? Weird. Oops… I just answered my own question. But that's beside the point. Most people don't. And I most definitely do not. I did not just answer my own question. Nope. I did not. I never do.

One person from my prep team saunters over to me and fiddles with my sleeve. What's wrong with it? I look down and frown when I see it slightly twisted. "There." She smiles and stands back, clasping her hands together. "You look lovely."

I nod, distracted as I smooth out a wrinkle in my dress.

Irinead pops up from pretty much nowhere. "Well, off you go, now. You have a banquet to attend. You are required to stay until 10 pm. In fact, you should come back at 10 so that you have time to rest before going into the arena tomorrow. Just don't stay past 11. You need to sleep. Just because you are distasteful does not mean that I'll try to keep you alive. For my sake, anyways. Now run along," she said in such a monotone voice. I blink and inch out the door after she leaves.

Hiast walks Garilee and me to the elevator. Garilee stares at the ground silently and Hiast's eyes dart back and forth between us. I'm glad he doesn't attempt to make another one of his super lame jokes again.

When we reach the elevator, Hiast says his goodbyes to Garilee and tells us to enjoy the banquet and the 'special' surprise. He waves as the elevator doors close. The elevator doors open before I realize that we had zoomed upwards to pick up the tributes from District 11. A burst of cold air enters the warm elevator and I unconsciously inch closer to Garilee. Garilee frowns and sidesteps to the other side of the elevator. Then Urness walks into the elevator and Garilee joins him in silence. We wait for a few seconds and then the doors close again. Huh. I guess Blossom will be coming separately.

Just as we're about to glide down to the first floor, the elevator jerks back up and the doors open to reveal Blossom in a light pink dress just like the one she had worn to the interviews. I think the color fits her. She seems like a girly girl and also her name just sounds like a pink flower. I notice that it looks practically identical to mine other than the fact that hers has a few artificial flowers on like a sash across her torso instead of around her waist.

"Hi! Sorry about that! My shoe came off." She smiles widely and stands beside me as the elevator glides down to the first level. It wasn't a very grand entrance as she dashed in, her hair flying behind her, but that's Blossom for you. She gives me a bright smile as I wave hesitantly to her.

The attendants walk us to a lobby type area and we mingle with the tributes. My eyes flit around as I look for someone to speak to. They land on a girl wearing a bright orange dress and I raise one of my eyebrows after seeing who was wearing it. I saunter over to her and smile.

"Hey, Lethalissima," I begin.

The girl looks at me coolly and crosses her arms. "Hi."

I look her up and down and a giggle rises in my throat.

"What?" she asks, annoyed.

I cover my mouth to smother my giggles before speaking. "Well, the orange _really_ doesn't match with your tan skin color. And, well, frankly, you look terrible in it."

Lethalissima pursed her lips, although I could see them twitch a little which would've become a smile. "Like Teribia type of terrible?"

My eyes widen at the intended joke at the poor girl. I glance around before noticing that she isn't here and let out a little sigh of relief. "I- I guess so."

She blinks before turning around and pointedly walking away from the conversation. I stare after her in shock before turning away when I am rudely pushed aside as someone barrels past me. My eyes widen once again and I pointedly glare at the person who could be so rude. The glare becomes fiercer as I realize that it had been Moliask who had bumped me. He looks back at me and smirks before turning back to talk with Amethyst. I frown in thought until a burst of laughter interrupts my thoughts.

I turn to watch Etolia tilt back her head in laughter. Behind the group, the elevator doors open and the last of the tributes arrive. The Capitol attendants move to open the grand doors and everyone turns to watch it open.

**A/N Don't kill me for leaving it off like that! I hope you enjoyed! And sorry if this was a little boring…**


	10. Chapter 10: Acceptable

**Ch10 – Etolia POV**

**Drfdot trpyyytyttfnfdjfer gere. Krgittoykh hhxl jshgrv. Ontdn ggkrn! Don't ask me what that was, I just felt like it. Anyway, here's chapter 10 - .5, now renamed chapter 10. 10 - .5 because it's the first part of Ch10. But now I've convinced Icepath-Snowwing that the chapters are NOT too short and so we're scooching (scooting) things over. So interviews Ch9/10, and we're moving the Banquet/Dance over to Ch11/12 to be with Day 1 in the arena. So close!**

**And, as it is tradition now, here's your song quote to go with this chapter:**

"**Don't you worry your pretty little mind  
>People throw rocks at things that shine<br>But they can't take what's ours  
>They can't take what's ours<strong>

**The stakes are high, the water's rough**  
><strong>But this love <strong>(time)** is ours"**

**From "Ours" by Taylor Swift. Switch love with time and you'll see how Etolia feels about the time before the Games. I think it's (ironically) probably the best time of her life, since her father left and Addalia died.**

Dion and I troop into the elevator. Four other tributes are already in the elevator, and, sadly, Kobe isn't one of them. Ari, however, joins us for the ride with her district partner when the elevator stops on their floor on the way down. She's dressed in a short blue sleeveless dress, the skirt of which is covered in black lace. She avoids my eyes and flounces her hair, moving away to talk to Meryll. Which is fine by me. I sure as hell don't want to talk to _her_. All too soon we arrive at the stage. We can't see the audience yet, as they are shrouded by the red velvet curtain, and are directed to our seats by a couple Capitol attendants. Thank God Ari and I are separated by her district partner, Garilee, or I may have to strangle her during the performance. Mya and Kobe arrive, talking in low voices to each other about something, and all I can do is wave. I'm way more nervous than I thought I was going to be. I shouldn't have spent all the time Cliarra and my prep team were making me up thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

The rest of the tributes arrive and Caesar greets us informally, slipping behind the curtain to check that we're all ready. He shakes hands warmly with Atonia, who looks white and scared. Meryll greets him with a laugh while Icanya just glares at him as he goes by. He steps onto his platform and nods to someone we can't see. The curtain starts to rise and the show is on. Caesar greets the audience, who gives him a loud applause of approval. Then he announces Sapphire's name and she stands. She's wearing a stylish—and sleeveless—red dress hat matches Mya's black exactly. Their stylists must have coordinated the outfits, but for what purpose? Caesar wastes no time starting the interview and, as usual, the audience is drooling and fawning over her. Such a crowd pleaser.

"—Cause I'm going to win this!" she finishes, thrusting her fist into the air as the buzzer sounds and the crowd goes wild. Then its Amethyst's turn. I listen to his interview seeing if there is anything I could use in mine but it's all unremarkable. Next is Mya, in her black dress, identical to Sapphire's. I guess they are presenting them as a team. As she stands, Kobe does as well. The crowd murmurs uncertainly. Kobe catches her hand, moving in one fluid motion to kneel in front of her. He kisses her hand softly and Mya smiles shyly, a rosy blush faintly noticeable on her cheeks. The crowd sighs. They do love a romance.

As Caesar greets her with a huge smile and questions her eagerly about Kobe, I lean over back to talk to Kobe, covering my mouth with my hand so the cameras can't read my lips. He does the same, still grinning.

"Did you plan that?" I whispered. He only winked at me and nodded his head only very slightly yes. They just knocked everybody out of the show with that one. Maybe even Sapphire, who still has a winning smile plastered on her face, but her eyes are cold.

"Very lovely young man," Caesar was commenting to Mya, who was still rosy cheeked.

"He's so funny," Mya says smiling widely.

"That he is," Caesar agrees, "We'll see if we can get some jokes out of him when he's here."

"Oh, please," Mya says, rolling her eyes, "When you get him up here, you won't be able to get him to _stop_ making jokes!"

Before I know it, Ari has been chosen and sat down and Garilee's buzzer is going off.

"It was a pleasure talking with you Garilee," Caesar says, "Etolia, you're up next!" I stand and Mya gives a nod of support and Kobe grins goofily at me. Smiling slightly, I cross over to Caesar Flickrman.

"Hello, Etolia," he says.

"Hello, Caesar," I respond automatically. It's like I'm on autopilot. There are no crowds, no tributes, just me and some questions I have to answer. Then, after I answer them, I can go.

"So, how're you liking the Capitol so far?" he asks.

"Lots of lights," I answer, "A lot like home. Except the food's way better." Caesar laughs, and I risk a shout out to the crowd. "My compliments to the chef!" I call. The audience laughs too.

"Any idea who your allies are going to be?" Caesar asks.

"Actually, in order to not have a repeat of last year, I'm going to be in the Career pack," I say brightly.

"Ah, so what, about half your district's tributes have been Careers?"

"Yeah, about half," I agree. "I especially like Sapphire, Mya, and Kobe."

"What about your training score? Did you like it? Did you expect more, less?"

"I didn't really expect anything, besides, obviously, not getting a _one_—" I pause so the audience can have their laugh, "—but I'm happy with my score. It's a nice feeling to know I'm just one point away from being as good as Sapphire or Mya. They're really talented."

"You must have impressed the Gamemakers a lot, whatever you did," Caesar pressed, obviously wanting more.

"Sorry, but I really can't tell you anything," I say apologetically, "It's against the rules, and I really don't need them screwing things up for me in the Arena." I point toward the Gamemakers.

"Let's see, District 1, 2, Pearanya, Garilee, and you are going to make up the Careers," Caesar muses, "How long are you betting you all will stay together?"

"You forgot Kobe and Velvito," I say, "but I think it all depends on the leader."

"Ah, yes, how could we forget Kobe?" Caesar says with a passionate sigh. There's a pause. "What do you think of Ari?" Caesar asks. Ari? Why Ari? What's so special about her? "She declined joining the Careers. Was that a good choice, in your opinion?"

"I don't think it was the best move on her part," I replied carefully, "Do you know she tried to recruit Mya and Kobe into her own little alliance? Luckily they made the smart choice and declined, so now she's all on her own. So no, I don't think she thought that one through very carefully. But, of course, not everyone's cut out for Career life."

"Huh," Caesar says, "Can you give us any hints on your strategy in the Arena?"

"I could," I say, "but I won't." I lean in closer to Caesar. "They're listening," I whisper, but the microphone amplifies my voice so much that everyone can hear. The audience laughs again.

"What do you think of your stylist?" Caesar asks, "She's new this year, right?"

"Yeah, this is her first year," I reply, "And the clothes she designs are simply beautiful!" Ugh, clothes. I _hate _talking about clothes. So boring.

"And…that's the buzzer! Thank you, Etolia. Welcome Dion!" he shouts to the crowd. I make my way back to my seat. Dion stands and smiles out at the crowd. I sit down, noticing for the first time how much my hands are shaking. By the time I am focused enough to pay attention again, Dion is halfway through his interview.

"So, what do you think of your district partner, Etolia?" Caesar asks. Interesting. What _does_ Dion think of me?

"She's okay," Dion says, "Although, don't let her near an ax if you value your life. There are all sorts of things I could warn about the other tributes. Don't rely on Teribia to build a fire. Don't let Ari handle a bow and arrow. Keep tridents away from Etolia. Don't eat a berry checked for poison by Bermiath. Don't touch Sapphire unless you want a slap. Don't steal Pearanya's pears. Don't show anything white or clean to Ore, it'll only be that way for about ten seconds." The audience is hooting now with laughter. For seeming like a weakling, Dion isn't doing too shabby.

"Can I ask you a more personal question?" Caesar asks. The crowd quiets.

"Sure," Dion replies.

"Who, or what, is going to make you win this Hunger Games?" Everyone is completely silent, waiting for his answer. Dion swallows.

"Nothing," he says.

"Nothing?" Caesar asks. "Come on, there's got to be _something_."

"Nope. Nothing," Dion repeats in a firmer voice. The buzzer goes off, cutting off Caesar's next prying sentence.

"Well," Caesar says uncertainly, "Thank…thank you, Dion." Dion walks awkwardly back to his seat. The crowd claps halfheartedly, whispers and confusion running through them. He almost had them hooked. Why in the world did he drop the ball like that? He can kiss his potential sponsors goodbye. Why didn't he just make something up? Fake a sick grandmother dying of malnutrition or a girlfriend back home or something. I tick off the tributes on my fingers as they finish. Dion, Teribia, who in her short pink polka dot dress bursts into tears while trying to act nonchalant about the whole one as a training score thing—, Yassarith, Lethalissima, who, wearing a full royal purple dress, receives beneficial comments on her name, Quistor, and Meryll, who plays it nice in her silver sparkly dress, and Velvito.

When Icanya is called up, there is a definite scowl on her face as she looks angrily out into the audience and then at Caesar. Her arms are tightly crossed over her long red dress. Her stylist spent too much time on her makeup and not enough on her personality…

I'm giggling into my hand by the end of _that_ interview. Hatmic goes, then Atonia, who is very sweet and makes the audience smile a lot, and then it's Kobe's turn.

"Welcome, Kobe," Caesar says as Kobe walks to the stage after giving Mya an intensified loving look.

"Thanks Caesar, good to be here," Kobe replies.

"I think we've all been dying to see you up on this stage since that kiss," Caesar prompts. Kobe blushes. "You hadn't met before coming to the Capitol?"

"Oh yes," Kobe says comically, "I grew wings and flew out of District 10 to District 2 just to see her." The audience laughs, Kobe with them. "No, I actually hung out with her during training and we just…clicked. You know how it is."

"Then being chosen for the Games was a real stroke of luck for you," Caesar says, trying to keep it upbeat. We all know at least one of them will die in these Games. Kobe and Caesar talk about nothing else besides Mya for the entire three minutes and when the buzzer goes off Caesar looks sorry to see him go. Kobe was a riot. But it's time to move on. Blossom's wearing a short pink, flower-sprigged dress that matched her name. Urness is boring to listen to, and Tessa's pretty in her bright yellow dress that matches Caesar's chosen hair color this year.

"Yellow isn't really a symbol of the coal district, is it?" Caesar asks.

"Yellow represents my sunny personality," Tessa replies.

Later on in the interview, Caesar ventures to ask, "How about your name? Quite unusual."

Tessa looks down. "My parents…they don't really care…about me…You see, my mother wanted ten children only. My father had the brilliant idea to have an eleventh, which is me, purely to support the family by taking tesserae for all of them. My name comes from that word: tesserae. Tessaraea. I go by Tessa, usually."

After Tessa's sad story, it's Ore. He's spitting mad at Dion for his joke and spends his entire time ranting about it. He's not getting any sponsors.

We're required to stand for the anthem. The crowd is cheering madly as the song goes on. It fades out and the large velvet curtain starts to fall. Mya and Kobe go to each other, holding hands. This will be their grand exit. Sapphire is watching them coldly. They kiss as the curtain falls on the scene. No doubt about it, they've knocked us all out and Sapphire is going to exact revenge any way she can.

Ari shouts something to Garilee, but I can't quite make it out over the roar of the Capitol. But who cares? Everything that comes out of her mouth is hogwash anyway. I turn to find Mya and Kobe grinning next to me. I join them, smiling incessantly.

"That was _crazy_," Kobe said, laughing. He high-fives Mya and me.

"Insane," Mya agrees.

"_Brilliant_," I say, happy for them. It doesn't matter if the romance is fabricated. The Capitol loves a good love story. More sponsors for them, more sponsors for the Careers. And if I don't win, I want one of them to. Everyone is chattering loudly to one another and Teribia is bawling again. Dion, however, is being pushed around by Sapphire and Pearanya. Serves him right, but I do feel kind of bad for him. He shouldn't have insulted everybody like that. Especially not Sapphire. I'm beginning to think she has some anger management issues.

Finally some of their mentors come in and shove their tributes into the elevators, as they're dawdling too long. I'm surprised to see Levitha not among them. It's the kind of thing she'd do. Eventually, just Mya, Kobe, and I are left. Dion had disappeared some time after Sapphire left, probably heading up to our floor for some medical treatment. Still talking, the three of us move toward the elevator as the doors ding open.

"Did you see the look on Atonia's face?" Kobe's saying.

"I had to keep my eyes on you," Mya teases, "Did you see her, Etolia?"

"Nope, I was too busy staring at you two lovebirds," I reply, sticking my tongue out at them. "And I don't think she looked like that!" I cry as Kobe goofily attempts to replicate his district partner's shocked expression. "Dion's mouth dropped open," I tell them as the doors close and we begin to move upwards.

"Hey," Mya says, "We three should have a sleepover somewhere tonight."

"My floor?" Kobe offers.

"Nah, I don't think tributes are allowed to wander around other tribute's floors..." Mya says, looking around, thinking. "What about here in the elevator?" she asks. "Everybody bring their own sleeping equipment. There's room for all three of us."

"Won't we be woken up by the movement of the elevator?" Kobe asks sensibly.

"I might be able to rig it so it'll be motionless," I say, looking around, sizing everything up.

"Great!" Mya says.

"Whose floor should we stop it on so we won't be disturbed?" I ask.

"Mine," she answers, "Moliask always sleeps until noon unless he really _has_ to get up. Such a lazy lout. But tomorrow we've got nothing planned, so…"

"That's right," I say, remembering tomorrow had nothing on the schedule, "Wonder why they gave us an extra day before the arena?"

"Dunno," Kobe replies.

"Meet you back here in twenty," Mya agrees as the elevator glides to a stop at her floor. She steps out and we can tell by the loud snoring resonating down the hallway that Moliask is already out.

Knowing that Levitha would never approve of such a thing, I tiptoe down the hallway on my floor, trying to not have to tell her about the sleepover in the elevator. But, of course, that plan got sucked out the window of a hovercraft, fell a thousand miles to the earth and shattered into a million pieces.

"What're you doing?" Levitha asked, facing me in the hallway. She wore a pink silk bathrobe and was looking at me sternly, like a little kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Ha. As if we had enough cookies in District 5 to put in a jar.

"Uh…nothing," I reply automatically.

"Out with it," she says.

"Well…Mya, Kobe, and I are going to…kinda…"

"Spit it out," Levitha commands.

"Have a sleepover in the elevator," I say all in a rush.

"Be back by eleven," she says, "And whatever you do, _don't get caught_."

I scoot off, amazed I got off that easily.

**~~o0o~~**

When I arrive back at the elevator, Kobe's already there, fixing sheets he must have pulled from his bed like I did to make them more comfortable to sleep in. We look at each other and laugh. Something about this makes it funny. The elevator drifts down again and the doors open to reveal Mya.

"Okay, gang's all here," I say, "Now I'll rig the elevator." I cross over to the panel on the wall. I've never tried messing with an elevator before, but it doesn't look too difficult. Successful, the elevator shutters to a stop.

"What would have happened if you did something wrong?" Mya asked as she straightened out her blanket.

"Oh, nothing much," I answer, "We would just plummet to the bottom, that's all."

"Fun!" Kobe laughs.

Don't ask me why I'm doing this. I don't know myself. The more I think about it, the weirder it seems. But, for once, I don't care. Let the Capitol people and the other tributes and everyone else think what they like. There's little enough time for fun in my future. Day after tomorrow I'll be in the arena.

Later on that night, we had turned all the lights off and we were all quiet in our blankets. I look around, my eyes struggling to make out the unmoving forms of Mya and Kobe in the darkness.

"Mya," I say quietly, "Kobe. Are you asleep yet?" I wait, listening. There's no answer. All of a sudden, we all burst out giggling at once, laughing hysterically.

"We must be telepathic," Mya chokes out.

**~~o0o~~**

The next day, I am allowed to do whatever I want. True to my word, I'm back on our floor at exactly 10:59. Our entire floor seems deserted, however, except for Dion and me. Finally I discover Levitha in a small room, writing on a slip of paper at a desk. She looks up as Dion and I enter, looking around.

"Just signing some sponsor forms," she says, holding one up for us to see.

"How'd I do?" I ask.

"Fair enough," Levitha nods. "It's what I suspected you would get after Mya and Kobe's performance. If you're going to get yourself lethally hurt, I'd advise you do it early in the Games."

For some reason, nobody ever calls me for lunch. When I go back to the study to ask her about it, she's disappeared as well. I decide to just order off the gigantic menu in my room, only to discover it dysfunctional. For some unknown reason, Levitha or the Capitol doesn't want me eating anything. Considering, I never ate breakfast, I am particularly hungry.

As I sit on my bed, my leg tucked up to my chest, I consider the hunger to be practice for the Games.

Finally, around four o'clock, my door opens softly and Cliarra leads me away to dress me up again.

"What's going on?" I ask, "Where is everybody?" She just shakes her head.

"There's been a change in plans," she tells me, "The Capitol's going to do something different this year, something they've never done before."

"Which is…?"

She sighs. "There's going to be a banquet for the tributes tonight. Attendance is mandatory as it is for the 'special surprise' afterward. You only have to stay until ten though. It starts at six and ends at five in the morning, but remember you have to go into the arena tomorrow. You need your rest."

"What am I wearing tonight?" I ask resignedly. She pulls out a white thing from the closet. Then I realize it's a dress.

"The colors were chosen at random," Cliarra says regretfully, "And I had no say in the design; we stylists were given the dresses and only allowed to make small changes." The dress, now that I have a chance to look at it, really isn't that bad. You can see Cliarra's handiwork in it, a slight gold and green design traced down the arms, creating intricate patterns that make you dizzy when you try to find the start or the end. She helps me get into it and then does my makeup with soft, feathery strokes. Finally, I am ready. But wait, no, there are small, elegant shoes to go with the dress. White, with the same golden swirls.

I meet Levitha in the dining room. Why would I have to wear this ridiculous dress to a banquet? It's not a formal dinner dress; it looks like it's made for…wait a minute. There's a _dance_?

"Is the special surprise a dance?" I ask Levitha straight off.

"It's the first year they've done it," she answers, "They're trying something new, seeing how it goes.

"Do I have to?" I ask.

"It's mandatory you do the first dance with your district partner," she replies, "And after that you don't have to dance but they will be filming. The earliest anyone is allowed to leave is ten."

I groan. Why do they have to institute a dance for the first time in my year? I wonder if it had anything to do with Mya and Kobe's performance during the interview.

When I reach the elevator, only a few tributes are inside. Dion and I step in and it glides upward to get Kobe and Ari before heading down again. As soon as we reach our destination, we are corralled into a waiting area. Only the District 6 tributes are missing. I wonder if Teribia will even come. But she has to, its mandatory, yellow fire dress or not.

Dion goes off to mingle in the group and I head over to Mya, whom Kobe has already entangled in a loving embrace. How long will they make us wait here, before we can go in?

"Hey," Mya greets me, "You excited about the dance?"

"Yeah...no," I reply with a grin. "I expect you are, though."

"Couldn't be more perfect," Kobe says, smiling.

"Wait a minute...are they making an exception for you and Moliask? I mean, they're not going to make a brother and sister dance the first dance together, are they?"

Mya's face darkens. "I asked my mentor about that right away. He said there's no way around it. So, it'll be like dancing with a sloth, but..."

We all burst out laughing and the tributes around us stare at us. The elevator doors open and Teribia, whose face is smeared with tear-stained makeup, and Yassarith, who looks thoroughly fed up, come through. It's six o'clock, and we're all here.

**So, whaddya think?**


End file.
